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A third of the companies involved in a $26-billion project to build a new fleet of warships for Canada have asked the Liberal government to delay bidding as problems continue to mount for the program.

On Monday, the Ottawa Citizen reported that one of the world’s largest shipbuilders — Fincantieri — had told Procurement Minister Judy Foote the project was so poorly structured it had doubts whether it would bid.

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Foote’s department has now confirmed that four firms have come forward to request the bidding process for the Canadian Surface Combatant be delayed.

Canada has pre-approved 12 firms to bid on various aspects of the program, which would see Irving Shipbuilding construct a fleet of new ships for the Royal Canadian Navy.

“Canada and Irving Shipbuilding Inc. are considering the extension requests,” Jean-François Létourneau, a spokesman for Public Services and Procurement Canada, noted in an email. He did not identify the companies requesting the delay.