AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE,
Paris: The European aerospace giant EADS said Friday that it planned to bid in Saudi Arabia's tender for a border security radar system, a project worth an estimated seven billion euros (8.8 billlion dollars).
The confirmation came after a press report said Friday that the Saudis had ended negotiations on the project with the French electronics company Thales and thrown the contract open to competition.
“We are well placed” to win the tender for the system, known as Miksa, an EADS executive said.
The contract would run for 12 years, and involves 225 radar installations as well as the supplying of telecommunications equipment and aircraft.
There was no immediate reaction from Thales. Shares in the company fell 0.41 percent to 33.64 euros in morning deals on the Paris stock exchange after the report in La Tribune business daily.
The paper said the contract would now be open to foreign competitors like EADS, Finmeccanica, BAE, and Raytheon.
A decision is expected during 2006.
