Follow-up of PM Dancila’s visit to the US: Government will invest 2.5 billion euros in the infrastructure of the US base at the Black Sea

By Edwig Ban
The first signals of the visit that PM Viorica Dancila and members of the Bucharest Cabinet made last week in the US are beginning to appear.
Among them, the military component is of major importance for strengthening the Romania-US Strategic Partnership.
In this context, the project of the Ministry of National Defense for the improvement and extension of the military base from Mihail Kogalniceanu, Constanta county, one of the most important NATO bases in Eastern Europe is included.
According to a foundation note signed by Defense Minister Gabriel Leş, the Government wants to allocate 2.5 billion euros for the infrastructure of the US military base from Mihail Kogălniceanu, near the Black Sea.
“Taking into account the existing infrastructure, personnel and technique, as well as the specificity of the activities currently being carried out at the Mihail Kogălniceanu civil airport, as well as the medium and long term forecasts regarding aircraft equipments and the diversification of missions. is to be performed at the Mihail Kogălniceanu site (multinational exercises, personal embarkation / disembarkation activities and materials for the theaters of operations, complex training activities in common with the troops of the other categories of armed forces) and due to the fact that most of them of the existing facilities are under-sized, or non-existent, given that the current runway serves both civil and military flights at the same time, it is considered that this project is imperatively needed, “it is stated in the founding note signed by Gabriel Leş.
According to the document, the investment involves the development of the new infrastructure that will allow the new operational area to operate under optimal conditions, as well as the integration and development of the existing ones at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base 57 for the national air forces and strategic partners.
From the investment of 2.5 billion lei will also be built take-off runways for military planes, hangars for aircraft and helicopter platforms.
At the same time, following the investment will be made roads, land training areas, monitoring networks, but also a photovoltaic park.
The investment of 2.5 billion lei will be staggered over a period of twenty years.
The financing of the investment objective is made from the state budget, through the budget of the Ministry of National Defense, within the limits of the amounts approved annually with this destination, as well as from other legally constituted sources of financing, according to the public investment programs approved according to the law.