Competition to build Canada's new fleet of submarines kicked up a notch Wednesday with the South Korean bidder reiterating its pledge to deliver more boats faster than its German rival.

Hanwha Ocean Ltd., in a statement, expressed its appreciation for the Liberal government's decision this week to narrow the field of bidders to two shipyards.

The other competitor in the program, potentially worth more than $20 billion, is ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) in Kiel, Germany.

The announcement of the downselecting — from four to two bidders — was made by Prime Minister Mark Carney as he met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Tuesday.

Later that day, Carney toured the TKMS shipyard and pledged to visit the South Korean facility this fall.

A handout from Hanwha Ocean shows the

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