BAE Systems has announced that construction has begun on a new assembly hall at Glasgow’s Govan shipyard. The building hall project forms part of a wider £300m capital expenditure plan implemented on the strength of the contract for five Type 26 Royal Navy frigates.

The new ship build hall at the Govan shipyard will shortly begin to take shape now that the basin has been filled and piling has begun. Measuring 170m long and 80m wide, the facility will be large enough for two Type 26 frigates to be constructed side-by-side within the hall, ending the need for vessels to be assembled in the open air at Govan. 

The shift towards vessel assembly within the hall will help enable efficient and safe shipbuilding, with expected efficiency improvements expected to ensure a long-term future for shipbuilding in Glasgow. With two 100-tonne cranes and a further two 20-tonne cranes, the facility is designed to accommodate up to 500 workers per shift.

The Motorship notes that the investment is expected lead to increased efficiencies in the manufacturing, build and assembly processes, both by reducing the movement of blocks within the yard, as well as by permitting the integration of leading edge automation and digitalisation technologies inside the hall. This is expected to increase the group’s competitiveness in the international naval construction market.