Posted On Thursday, 23 December 2021 10:05
According to information published by the INQUIRER.NET website on December 23, 2021, South Korean Company Hyundai Heavy Industries has confirmed a contract to build two corvettes for the Navy of the Philippines.
BRP Jose Rizal of the Philippine Navy was built by the South Korean company Hyundai Heavy Industries. (Picture source Philippine Navy)
The Department of National Defense (DND) of the Philippines has issued a notice on December 15, 2021, to announce the award. The acquisition would be financed by a government-to-government loan agreement, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in earlier statements.
The South Korean company Hyundai Heavy Industries has already built two multi-role frigates for the Philippine Navy. The Jose Rizal is a class multi-role guided missile frigates, currently in service with the Philippine Navy which are a heavily modified variant of the ROK Navy's Incheon-class frigates. The ships, which were built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), are specifically accommodated to fit the requirements of the Philippine Navy.
This new acquisition project of corvettes for an estimated cost $560 million including weapon systems, is one of the big-ticket items in the Philippine Navy’s upgrade program.
In August 2019, The Philippines had announced a plan to purchase two brand new corvettes from South Korea during the welcome ceremony for the Navy’s newly-acquired ship, BRP Conrado Yap (PS-39), a former Pohang-class vessel that served the Republic of Korea Navy.