November 5, 2019, by navaltoday

German shipbuilder and submarine specialist thyssenkrupp Marine Systems has announced that it would invest 250 million euro in its Kiel shipyard by 2023.

As explained, the aim of the investment will be to develop the shipyard into an international competence center for conventional submarine construction.

The company added that it would hire around 500 new employees throughout the company by the end of 2020, thanks to new orders.

“Our ambition is to be Europe’s most modern naval company. By making major investments, we are preparing our operations for the future,” Dr. Rolf Wirtz, CEO of thyssenkrupp Marine Systems.

“Our recent successes show that there is strong demand for our products and services. We want to further strengthen this position.”

The company intends to establish a new shipbuilding hall for large-scale section production, a second outfitting line, a new stage system, a modernized service hall and a shiplift.

TKMS further confirmed it was contracted by an African customer to build four frigates August 2019. While it was not specified, the order was likely made by Egypt in accordance with German media reports from the time which said that a multi-billion euro deal for the sale of vessels to Egypt had been approved by the government.