Shipyard upgrades as a public-works programme

How can governments justify and organize expensive shipyard upgrades?

Treat them as national public works that support employment and industrial capacity as well as meeting naval needs.

One route around government reluctance is to use departments responsible for public works and employment. A national-works programme can organize improvements whose benefits extend beyond one immediate ship contract. Dock enlargement, machinery, and supporting construction create industrial capacity while also sustaining skilled employment. Framing the project that way gives parliament a broader reason to fund it. Naval infrastructure could therefore be delivered through the same institutions and political arguments used for large civil-engineering programmes.