Pakistan's second Agosta attack submarine is ready for sea trials, boosting the country's ambitions to become a regional supplier of the French designed vessel.

The Agosta 90-B submarine was built in Pakistan with help from French state-owned ship-building firm Direction des Constructions Navales (DCN).

The project was completed despite a suicide bomb attack with killed 11 of the project's French engineers in front of their Karachi hotel in May.

Pakistan plans to build a third Agosta-90B independently at the Karachi Dockyards and is reportedly in "serious negotiations" to supply other Asian and Gulf navies.

Arms industry growth

Pakistan has been building-up its arms industry since US sanctions against it for nuclear tests in 1998 were lifted in earlier this year.

It completed its first major military export deal since 11 September earlier this month when the Gulf state of Oman took delivery of five Super Mushshak training aircraft.

The deal had to be approved by the US government because the plane contains US parts.

Pakistan has previously exported arms to Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Naval power

The Agosta submarine was originally due to be launched in 2001 and commissioned by the Pakistan Navy in February 2002.

It will now be launched near the port city of Karachi on 24 August, the English language Pakistan Observers newspaper reported.

The first Agosta was built in France, the final assembly of the second was completed in Pakistan and the third to be completely built in Pakistan.

The Agosta 90-B can stay at sea longer than Pakistan's other submarines and can be converted to nuclear power, the newspaper reported, quoting a senior navy official.

The vessel is equipped with the French-made Submarine Tactical Integrated Combat System, four bow torpedo tubes, and recently successfully fired a French-made Exocet SM39 missile, he added.

In May, French naval chief Jean Louis Battet met India's defence minister to reportedly hold talks for the sale of six Scorpene submarines also made by DCN.