State-owned shipbuilder PT PAL Indonesia will build two landing platform docks (LPDs) for the Department of National Defense (DND) of the Philippines after the two parties signed the contract in Manila on Friday, June 24.
Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of PT PAL Indonesia Willgo Zainar noted in a statement as Antara reported said that it was the second time that PT PAL Indonesia had received the order for warships from the Philippines.
“We are proud to be able to contribute to the defense of ASEAN countries. We also laud the trust of the Philippines for choosing PT PAL for the second time to provide maritime defense equipment,” he remarked.
He said the company was urged to build two warships since the Philippine government was satisfied with the operation of two Strategic Sealift Vessel (SSV) landing docks delivered by PT PAL several years ago.
“In addition to the excellent quality of the product, one of the Philippine delegates, who visited PT PAL Indonesia some time ago, also said that they were satisfied with the after-sales services provided by us,” he stated in the statement.
The CMO said that the Philippine government’s second-order demonstrated that the global market’s trust in the corporation’s capacity and capability in procuring defense equipment had increased.
“It cannot be separated from the Indonesian government that has trusted and supported us. It is also an attempt of PT PAL as part of (the state-run defense industry holding) Defend ID to rank among the top 50 global defense industries,” he noted.
In addition, the enterprise is recognized to have an excellent welding technology, as proven by the Zero-Defect predicate received for developing the joint section of the Indonesian navy’s submarine KRI Alugoro-405.
The landing platform docks currently ordered by the Philippine government will be built in Surabaya. The ships are planned to have a length of 123 meters (m) and a height of 21 m, weighing 7,200 tons, and a cruising endurance of 30 days.
