THE HAGUE - The Dutch government plans to commission the French state-owned company Naval to build four new submarines with the latest spy equipment and weapons on board. An amount of 4 to 6 billion euros is involved in the order, sources close to the government told NOS and RTL Nieuws. 

The formal decision will be made at the weekly Cabinet meeting on Friday, the sources said. After that, the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, must assess and approve the purchase. 

France has been pulling out all the stops to win this contract for its state-owned company, according to NOS. Naval’s CEO “coincidentally” accompanied French President Emmanuel Macron on his state visit to the Netherlands in April. The French submarines must eventually replace the Netherlands’ four walrus class submarines. 

The government going with Naval means that the partnership between the Dutch company Damen Shipyards and the Swedish Saab missed out on the contract. Damen recently already took on a prominent role in constructing new ships for the Dutch navy - four air defense and command frigates and six amphibious transport ships. That order also involves billions. 

TKMS from Germany was also in the running to win the Dutch submarine order.