The U.S. Navy on Thursday awarded two contracts worth up to $98.7 million to a Northrop Grumman Corp. unit to repair three of its shipyards damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

The first deal, worth up to $86.3 million, will provide infrastructure upgrades at shipyards in Pascagoula and Gulfport, Miss., and the second deal, worth $12.4 million will provide the same upgrades at a shipyard in New Orleans.

Funds will be used to repair shipyards owned by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems Gulf Coast that were damaged in 2005 by the hurricane.

According to the Navy, 18 proposals were received from 7 competitors for the contract, which is intended to expedite hurricane recovery for the shipbuilding industry.

The deal is the first of seven contracts expected to be awarded to Gulf Coast shipbuilders under the Defense Department’s emergency supplemental funding for the global war on terror and hurricane recovery, the Navy said.

Shares of Northrop rose 35 cents to end the regular trading session at $77.14.