Posted on 07/02/2004 9:05:42 AM PDT by Grzegorz 246
Warsaw. (Interfax-Europe) - US-based defense contractor Lockheed Martin signed state-owned Polish ship builder Stocznia Szczecinska Nowa (SSN) to build four ships by 2008 as part of an offset deal concerning Poland's purchase of American F-16 fighter jets, the shipyard said in a statement Thursday.
In the first stage of the project, SSN is to build two container ships, valued at a total of USD 80 mln, which are to be delivered in 2007. SSN and Lockheed are also beginning work on the second stage of the project, which includes the construction of two other ships in 2007 and 2008.
"The successful finalization of this work scheduled [to start in] September 2004, will allow for full realization of SSN's offset task," reads the statement from the shipyard.
Prior to the signing of the Lockheed deal, SSN had a total value of USD 1.2 bln in contracts, which were to secure its operations for three years.
The financially troubled SSN recently received a 25.9% stake drug producer Jelfa in a government move to boost the shipyard's equity. The capital increase will be performed once the bankruptcy proceedings of Stocznia Szczecinska, the healthy assets of which were used to create SSN, are finalized and approved by a court.
Since its bankruptcy and the establishment of the new entity in 2002, the Szczecin shipyard, operating as SSN, has received loan guarantees from the Treasury totaling PLN 1.2 bln. Currently, the Treasury's involvement in SSN amounts to PLN 823 mln, as the shipyard has already paid off some of its debt.
Currently, SSN is 94%-owned by the state-run ARP and 6%-owned by the Treasury Ministry.
American aeronautics giant Lockheed Martin has started or completed contracts worth some USD 1.14 bln, as part of an offset package tied to Poland's purchase of USD 3.5 bln of Lockheed's F-16 fighter jets. The Polish government's offset committee has accepted nine contracts worth USD 517.9 mln, out of the USD 1.14 bln presented by Lockheed Martin by the end of April 2004. The remaining contracts are under review.
In June, Lockheed redrew its list of investment projects, upping aggregate project value to USD 9.86 bln from initial plans of USD 6.03 bln. The defense contractor is obliged to sign USD 3 bln in offset-related contracts by 2006, another USD 2 bln must be signed before 2009 and the remaining USD 1.03 bln by 2013. The company is financially responsible for keeping the schedule.
Lockheed tied down Central Europe's largest-ever military contract in the first half of 2003, edging out BAE Systems/Saab and France's Dassault. The offset deal is worth just over USD 6 bln.
I guarantee one of the looney left's conspiracy theorists will claim that this is the reason why Polish troops found more evidence of WMD in Iraq.
This would be right up Michael Moore's alley.
Great! You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours :) Pols have been helping us since Thaddeus Kosciuszko!
czesc Grzechu. Co slychac?
Wyrzucili mnie wczoraj z tego calego DU ju¿ po godzinie :)
At first I saw this headline and thought "Poland has a nuclear submarine?
Dzienkuje bardzo pan Kosciuszko.
BUHAHAHA
SSN ? :)
leje ze smiechu, cos musiales powiedziec, ze ich w kurzylo.
Moze polska im sie nie podoba.
Nie, napisa³em ¿e jestem z Mongolii :)
A jako screen name " Kocham Busha " po polsku. Mo¿e ktoœ zrozumial.
zwarjowales :} nic dziwnego ze cie olali. Sluchaj masz gadu gadu? Na razie jestem na lini to moze sobie pogadamy co myslisz o tym ha? Pozdrowienia dla Ciebie.
Mam 6992409 - na gg numer, ale teraz nie mam juz czasu - pozniej bede.
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