Navantia San Fernando advances in the construction of three corvettes for Saudi Arabia
The public shipyard estimates this contract will generate an employment impact of up to 2,000 jobs, including direct, indirect, and induced jobs
Navantia shipyard in San Fernando (Cádiz) celebrated two key milestones this Wednesday in the execution of the contract with the Royal Saudi Navy (RSNF): the first corvette keel laying of the second series and the third unit sheet metal cutting. With this, the three corvettes included in this new phase of the agreement are now under construction.
The first of these corvettes, which will be named Al-Madinah, will be the 571st construction by the Cádiz shipyard. The ceremony was attended by Vice Admiral Mohammed Abdlrahman Alghuraybi, the highest representative of the RSNF, and the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Spain, Princess Haifa bint Abdulaziz Al-Mogrin. Both were received by Navantia's President, Ricardo Domínguez, and Alberto Cervantes, Director of Business for Corvettes and Maritime Action Vessels.
After the keel was laid on slipway number 2 of the shipyard, the attendees moved to the José Antonio Rodríguez Poch Flat Open Unit Workshop (TUAP). There, the Saudi vice admiral signed a commemorative plaque, which was subsequently welded by a Navantia worker. The sheet metal was also cut for the third corvette under contract during the same ceremony, allowing for parallel progress on the three units.
This sheet metal cutting comes just three months after the start of the second unit and marks further progress in a program whose final delivery is scheduled for 2028. According to the company, Navantia will be responsible for the complete delivery of the first corvette, while the second and third will be completed in Saudi Arabia, where the installation, integration, and testing of the combat system will take place, following the model of the previous contract between the two parties.
In addition to the construction of the ships, the agreement includes an integrated logistics support package, crew training, and a period of operational evaluation of the corvettes by the Saudi Navy at the Rota naval base, where Navantia will provide support services. The company will also be responsible for training 100 Saudi engineers as part of the knowledge transfer program.
Navantia estimates that this contract will generate approximately four million hours of work in the Bay of Cádiz and will impact up to 2,000 jobs, including direct, indirect, and induced jobs, consolidating its position as one of the region's main industrial and technological drivers.
(Source: El Periódico)