The Indian Navy is expanding its newest naval base at Karwar in Karnataka, to provide a docking facility for aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines.
Indian Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma said that phase I was now fully complete and we have ten warships docked at the naval base.
“The detailed project report for phase II is in the final stages, after approval by the cabinet committee on security, construction will begin in 2011,” he said speaking to the Times Of India.
After completing phase-II construction by 2017, the Karwar naval base will be able to provide docking facility for around 30 navy warships.
In addition, the base will also house a wide variety of smaller ships, including ten of the 80 fast-interceptor craft for the Sagar Prahari Bal, the specialised force created for coastal security.
The Karwar base is considered crucial in the Indian Ocean as the navy is planning to induct the 44,570t Admiral Gorshkov and 40,000t indigenous aircraft carrier by 2014-2015.
The expansion of the naval base began in 1999 with a Rs2,500 crore ($561.6m) fund allocation from the government.
