Article content

The Canadian government and Irving Shipbuilding Inc. are extending the submission deadline for the request for proposals for the design of the Canadian Surface Combatant fleet to November 30.

The previous deadline had been Nov. 17.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Submission of bids delayed again on Canadian Surface Combatant program Back to video

The Canadian Surface Combatant is the largest, most complex procurement undertaken by the government, according to Public Services and Procurement Canada. The ships being built will form the backbone of the Royal Canadian Navy.

A winning bidder will be announced sometime in 2018 and the start of ship construction remains scheduled for the early 2020s, the government noted in a statement Friday.

Bidding has been delayed a number of times now. At one point, construction of the vessels was supposed to start in 2018.