Fincantieri, one of the world's leading shipbuilding groups, and EDGE, one of the world's leading advanced technology and defense groups, today announced that the Tawazun Council has awarded MAESTRAL, their Abu Dhabi-based shipbuilding joint venture (JV), a significant “In-Service Support (ISS) Strategic Partnership Project” for the entire fleet of the UAE Navy. The Tawazun Council is an independent government body that works closely with the Ministry of Defense and security agencies in the UAE. The value of the agreement is approximately 500 million euros with a duration of five years.
The awarding of the contract was announced by Hamad Al Marar, Director General and CEO of EDGE Group, Rodrigo Torres, CFO of Edge Group, Biagio Mazzotta, Chairman of Fincantieri, Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO and General Manager of Fincantieri, and Dario Deste, General Manager of Military Ships Division of Fincantieri.
MAESTRAL will operate as a strategic industrial partner, managing the UAE Navy's maintenance at 360 degrees with the aim of ensuring maximum operational and logistical needs, while supporting, over the next five years, its transformation path towards new performance levels.
Hamad Al Marar, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of EDGE Group, said: “This contract is a testament to the trust placed by our main client and major international stakeholders in MAESTRAL’s advanced capabilities. Thanks to the synergy with Fincantieri, we are confident that this collaboration will offer great opportunities for this unique joint venture to leverage all its resources and experience to provide state-of-the-art vessels, turnkey solutions and life-cycle maintenance services, ensuring commercial success for all partners involved.”
Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO and general manager of Fincantieri, stated: “This agreement represents a key step for Fincantieri’s growth in the region and reinforces our ongoing commitment to developing industrial partnerships of excellence. It also reflects the shared vision and synergy between Fincantieri and EDGE through the JV MAESTRAL. We are proud to stand alongside the UAE Navy as a trusted partner, ensuring continuous support, cutting-edge technologies and top-level maintenance services, capable of meeting the constantly evolving needs of modern naval operations.”
The Strategic Partnership Project of In-Service Support will see a close collaboration between Fincantieri and the EDGE Group company, Abu Dhabi Shipbuilding (ADSB), within the framework of the MAESTRAL Joint Venture. This unique synergy will allow to enhance the combined expertise of the shipyards, leveraging a wide know-how technical, engineering and management to ensure the highest level of efficiency and performance for the UAE Navy.
The MAESTRAL Joint Venture, first announced in May 2024, was created with the aim of developing new opportunities in the naval sector, from design to construction and marketing of advanced naval units and services.
