The 3rd of July Naval Base, which was opened by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi Saturday, is the newest in a series of military bases established by Sisi’s administration in the past few years.
The new base is constructed over 10 million square metres. It contains 74 buildings, an airfield adjacent to a reception area for high-level visitors, a number of training grounds and a command centre.
The base also contains a ground for joint training with troops from other countries, a military platform that extends over 1,000 metres and is 14-metre deep, and a number of commercial platforms that extend over 2,200 metres and are 17-metre deep. It also contains a 29-metre-high watchtower.
The establishment of the base followed the highest international naval base construction codes, according to the Egyptian navy.
The importance of the new base emanates from the importance of the area where it is constructed, according to naval and military experts.
It is constructed not far away from Egypt’s important gas fields in the Mediterranean. It is also close to the Libyan border.
Rampant tensions in the East Mediterranean region, the turmoil in Libya and the presence of the gas wealth in this area make it necessary for Egypt to acquire the necessary military power to protect itself and its interests in the area.
In the last decade, the Mediterranean also turned into a vital bridge for tens of thousands of illegal immigrants, escaping poverty, wars, unemployment, and famine in back their countries, especially in the Middle East and Africa, and seeking new opportunities and a new life in Europe.
Egypt has been so instrumental in preventing waves of illegal migrants from reaching European shores in the past years.
The new base is expected to help the Egyptians do this even more effectively, analysts say.
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