By Colin Packham
SYDNEY, April 18 (Reuters) - Australia will speed up plansto build more naval vessels in domestic shipyards, PrimeMinister Malcolm Turnbull said on Monday, making an announcementthat could find favour with voters just weeks ahead of a likelyfederal election.
Naval shipbuilding is a key part of a plan unveiled inFebruary to boost defence spending by nearly A$30 billion($23.02 billion) over the next 10 years.
To speed up the plan, the construction of 12 offshore patrolvessels, worth A$3 billion ($2.30 billion) would now start in2018, Turnbull said, though the government has still to awardthe contract.
"Putting our navy in the right situation to keep us safe andputting our naval ship building industry in the right place tobuild the ships we need for the future is a great nationalendeavour," Turnbull told reporters.
"It will directly secure more than 2,500 jobs for decades tocome."
Construction of the offshore patrol vessels will start inAdelaide, the state capital of South Australia, and be completedin Western Australia.
Opinion polls show ebbing support for Turnbull's LiberalParty, ahead of an election likely to be held on July 2, and South Australia could be a key battleground state.
Three private companies - Dutch based Damen Shipyards,German firms Fassmer and Lürssen - have been shortlisted tobuild the offshore patrol vessels, Turnbull said.
The timetable for other vessels was unaltered, but Turnbullsaid it would entail more work for Adelaide's shipyards.
BAE Systems, Fincantieri and Navantia havebeen shortlisted as preferred bidders for the construction ofnine frigates that will be built in Adelaide, he said.
The orders are expected to be worth more than A$35 billion.
The prime minister said Austal Ships Pty Ltd was selected asthe preferred bidder for a contract to construct and maintain upto 21 Pacific patrol boats. The boats would be built in WesternAustralia and the project was valued at around A$500 million, headded.
While announcing details of Australia's naval shippingplans, Turnbull refused to comment on questions regarding aproposed A$50 billion contract to buy 12 submarines.
Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Frenchstate-owned builder DCNS Germany's ThyssenKrupp arevying for the contract.($1 = 1.3034 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)