UK government to help Harland and Wolff win contract
Thursday, 9 March 2000 17:43
The British Government has confirmed that it will help the Harland and Wolff Belfast shipyard win a multi million pound contract, which is crucial to prevent its closure. The British Department of Trade and Industry has agreed in principle to provide loans of 80% of the contract value for a Cunard cruise liner, if the company is awarded the contract. Yesterday, almost the entire workforce at Harland and Wolff was served with a 90-day protective redundancy notice because of, what the company termed, an empty order book.
The shipyard has welcomed the financial guarantees being offered by Westminister, but it will still be some time before it is clear whether the package will enable the yard to bid successfully for the order. A decision from Cunard is expected within the next two weeks. The British governments department of Trade and Industry can, under EU rules, offer guarantees of up to 9% of the contract price. This means Harlands could expect financial subsidies of about £36million. Industry experts say the yard could need between £50million and £100million in subvention, in order to be in a position to bid successfully for the liner deal. Failure to secure the work could lead to the closure of the yard by next summer.
