Gorshkov deal on "visual examination"?

Abhishek Shukla

New Delhi, Sep 27 (PTI) India signed the multi-million
dollar deal of decommissioned Russian aircraft carrier Admiral
Gorshkov merely on "visual examination in as-is condition" and
Navy "thought" ship could be repaired.

After signing the contract in 2004, the opening up the
equipment for detailed examination and survey of the state of
the hull structure, systems and cabling, it emerged that these
could not be repaired and hence would have to be replaced with
new ones, says Vice Admiral of Indian Navy S P S Cheema.

The contract for the aircraft carrier was signed in
January 2004 for which the "work package was drawn up based on
visual examination in 'as-is' condition wherein it was thought
that the majority of equipment, systems and hull structures
could be repaired while the electronic equipment could be
renewed," Vice Admiral Cheema said in a reply to an Right to
Information (RTI) application filed by Subhash Chandra Agrwal.

"This has resulted in additional work and in the
interest to endure operation efficacy of the ship, these
additional works have been accepted for consideration. The
extra works have in turn resulted in increase in the project
cost," he said.

The deal which was signed for USD 974 million has
escalated by about 300 per cent to USD 2.9 billion, according
to sources. (More) PTI