BAE Systems Begin To Build New Shipbuilding Hall in Glasgow
BAE Systems has begun to construct its new shipbuilding hall in Govan in the Scottish city of Glasgow. The announcement of the beginning of construction comes in the wake of the news that BAE has received a £4.2 billion ($5.1 billion) contract with the Ministry of Defence to produce 5 new Type 26 ships in November 2022. The new shipbuilding hall will be 170m long and 80m wide and will be large enough to house 2 type 26 frigates side by side.
Simon Lister, Managing Director of Naval Ships at BAE said this about the project:
‘We are the proud custodians of shipbuilding on the Clyde and our talented teams are working hard to build on that legacy to secure Glasgow’s status as a shipbuilding centre of excellence for generations to come. This new hall will give us some of the best facilities in the world and completely modernise our approach to shipbuilding. It, alongside the investments already under way to digitise our processes, will ensure Govan continues to be something that the city of Glasgow can be truly proud of.
The structure is to be built by Northern Irish civil engineer firm McLaughlin & Harvey and will be built using 6,000 tons of steel and 20,000m3 of concrete. Once built the hall will be able to house 100-tonne cranes and be able to accommodate 500 workers per shift.
McLaughlin & Harvey announced their partnership with BAE on their X profile stating that they are “proud to be working with @BAES_Maritime on the construction of its new ship build hall that will transform and enhance shipbuilding at the Govan shipyard in Glasgow.”
Stephen Charlick, Type 26 programme Project Manager at Defence Equipment & Support, said “the new Ship Build Hall in the Govan shipyard …will modernise shipbuilding on the river Clyde. Providing the capability to construct two Type 26 Frigates within a controlled, weathertight facility will greatly improve the working environment.” Charlick also noted that each of the new frigates will be “more materially complete before moving across to the dry dock in Scotstoun for test and acceptance.” This will help BAE deliver the Type 26 frigates to the Royal Navy quicker.
The project is part of a 300 million modernization of BAE’s shipbuilding facilities in Govan and Scotstoun. 8 new frigates are to be built at the Scottish sites and will create 1,700 jobs and a further 2,300 jobs across the UK.