Australian submarine deal criticized for "one partner" contract decision

An Australian government decision to award just one company the contract to build Australia's next-generation naval submarines has been criticized.

In April last year, the Australian government awarded the contract to French shipbuilder Direction des Constructions Navales Services (DCNS), which committed to build the 12 Barracuda-class submarines at a cost of 37.3 billion U.S. dollars.

Following the contract announcement, the Australian National Audit Office was commissioned to report on the details of the contract, the results of which were handed down late on Thursday.

While the report was deemed to overall be in favor of the contract, auditor-general Grant Hehir did admit the decision to award the contract to just the one company would lessen the motivation for DCNS to "produce a more economical and efficient build."

Following the release of the report, a spokesperson for the Defence Department responded to the claim, saying the government did not have the resources available to involve a second partner.

"Endeavoring to work with two international partners would dilute capability and undermine the effort required to arrive at a sound understanding of the capability, cost range and risk of the proposed design for the future submarine," the department said in comments published in Friday's News Corp newspapers.

The 12 new submarines are slated to replace the nation's six ageing Collins-class submarines which first came into service in 1990. Endit