Babcock secures £750m submarine contract

Babcock said a further 1,000 construction jobs would be created as part of the programme

The delivery of future submarine capability in Devonport has been secured after a four-year £750m contract was signed between an international defence company and the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Babcock International Group signed a contract with the MoD Submarine Delivery Agency to provide the infrastructure needed "for decades to come".

The company said the programme would safeguard seabed telecommunications cables and oil and gas pipelines that were a target for hostile states.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said it was "crucial" that the infrastructure which supported the "world-leading submarine fleet" be maintained.

Babcock said a further 1,000 construction jobs would be created as part of the programme.

The company said the programme would also enable the "ongoing delivery of base maintenance periods and deep maintenance projects for current and future classes of submarine".

Babcock’s Chief Executive David Lockwood said: “The work we deliver in sustaining the entirety of the UK’s submarine fleet is critical.

"This investment will ensure that we are able to continue to deliver the complex maintenance and life-extension programmes we undertake to ensure our Royal Navy can continue to go to sea safely... protecting our nation.”