Premier Darrell Dexter says Nova Scotia firms are well positioned to take advantage of a $25 billion opportunity under the federal government’s National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy. The province commissioned Duke University's Center for Globalization to compile a study detailing how home-grown companies could become suppliers to the shipbuilding program. More than 100 Nova Scotia firms were named in the study including Allendale Electronics in Lockeport and the Lunenburg Industrial Foundry. However, Dexter says the report focuses more on opportunities for local companies rather than guaranteeing work.
The report cost $135,000 to compile but Dexter says it's a relatively small amount when you look at the overall amount of the shipbuilding contract. He says ship designs could be announced by Ottawa in the near future with work tentatively set to begin in mid 2015.
