Regardless of whether Austal USA in Mobile AL wins the new military contract, they will be moving forward with their expansion plan

Austal USA will be going forward with their Mobile River
Shipbuilding facility expansion plan, as reported in the Press-Register last
Wednesday. According to company
officials, the $200 million-plus expansion plan will move ahead regardless of
whether Austal USA wins the major new military work or not. Whether the $3 million dollar design contract
for a high-speed troop transport ship for the military will go to Austal USA or
not will be decided this coming January; there are four other teams hoping to
win the working contract for building ships for the Army, Navy and Marine
Corps.

Although this past September had Austal USA putting their
expansion plan on hold, company officials are now saying that they will start
the extensive 700,000 square foot modular shipbuilding facility in the third quarter
of 2008. They hope that by starting this
plan they can be a better equipped shipbuilding facility to support any
contracts the military will have to offer this Mobile location. Austal will be hiring more workers and the
expansion work could add nearly 1,200 more jobs to Mobile Alabama in the near
future, as reported in the Press Register.

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