DRB-Hicom Bhd (1619) is poised to receive a letter of award to supply 257 units of armoured personnel carriers (APCs) worth up to RM7.5 billion from the government, this week, people with knowledge of the project financing said.
Business Times understands that a group of banks are preparing to provide partial financing for the project.
A group of banks led by Maybank, RHB Bank and AmBank are helping to arrange the syndicated loan and other financing, which could be worth as much as RM3.5 billion.
Under the terms of the contract, DRB-HICOM will deliver the armoured-wheeled vehicles to the government by 2016. The group will come out with the first vehicle sometime early next year.
The vehicles will be used by the Armed Forces, and will have multiple uses. DRB-HICOM's defence unit, DRB-HICOM Defence Technologies Sdn Bhd (DEFTECH), will be undertaking the project.
DEFTECH is to build 12 variants of the APC from the base vehicle, including personnel carrier, anti-tank weapon carrier, command and control and anti-aircraft weapon vehicles.
"The contract is for a seven-year period," said a finance executive familiar with the massive project.
In April last year, DRB-HICOM received a letter of intent from the government for the production and supply of the APCs. The APCs are modelled on the Turkish 8x8 Pars wheeled armoured vehicle.
The Pars, developed and produced by the Turkish company FNSS-FMC-Nurol Defense Systems, is based on a design made by the Michigan-based General Purpose Vehicles company.
The APC version will be equipped with a two-man manned turret to be developed and produced by a South African firm, while Sapura Thales Electronics Sdn Bhd will be the electronics system integrator.
The cost of DRB-HICOM's APCs will include the total life cycle cost, which includes design, development, logistical support and sustainment as well as non-recurring engineering costs and investments associated with the set-up of the production facilities in Pekan, Pahang. - By Francis Fernandez, btimes.com.my
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