By Alabama Public Radio
Mobile, AL – Governor Riley met with Austal U-S-A executives Wednesday to discuss future projects for the Mobile shipbuilder and the status of its U-S Navy design contract. A team featuring Austal as its lead builder won a 78-point-eight million dollar contract last month to design a new littoral combat ship. Austal says it will cost up to 25 million dollars to expand its shipyard as it designs and builds the ships. The Alabama Development Office has put five million dollars on the table through state and local incentives to help fund site work and changes to the infrastructure. Austal U-S-A is a joint venture of Austal Limited of Western Australia and Mobile's Bender Shipbuilding and Repair Company. It's working with General Dynamics Corporation on the littoral ship project.