Article Posted on : - Dec 08, 2009

NEW DELHI (BNS): The Indian Navy is all set to begin work on the second phase of Project Sea Bird with the government clearing the path.

The union government has cleared the proposal and necessary formalities have been completed, according to a report by Business Standard.

The second phase would start once the funds were allotted; the daily quoted Commodore Rajiv Jaiswal of Kadamba Naval Air Base, Karwar, as saying.

Jaiswal said, the second phase of the project would include an airport at Alageri village near Ankola with the defence department’s permission. The Navy requires more land to expand the airport for civilian purpose and is waiting for the state government to acquire more land for the construction of a runway.

However, no additional land was required for the second phase of the project as the Navy is in possession of enough land to construct and develop the infrastructure. The second phase would include the dockyard, accommodation for the staff, air base, submarines and helicopters, he added.

The first phase of Project Seabird was completed in 2005 with the construction of a large new naval base, INS Kadamba, at Karwar in Karnataka. The primary motivation for building a new base on the western coast was the overcrowding at its major harbours of Mumbai and Vishakhapatnam, as well as at the smaller ports of Kochi and Goa, which the Indian Navy had to share with commercial vessels.