INDIA. Mumbai: On Thursday and Friday, Defence Secretary Dr. Ajay Kumar visited Karwar Naval Base in Karnataka to assess various activities, including the Indian Navy’s most ambitious infrastructure project, ‘Project Seabird’.
Rear Admiral Atul Anand, Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Naval Area, welcomed him. Dr. Ajay Kumar was briefed on the status of several programmes at the Karnataka Naval Area, including ‘Project Seabird’, the upgrading of Naval Ship Repair Yard (Karwar), and the Navy’s indigenization efforts to support INS Vikramaditya, during his visit.
He was also taken for a visit onboard INS Vikramaditya and apprised onsite on various operational, administrative, and infrastructure initiatives being steered at the Karwar Naval Base (INS Kadamba) as part of Project Seabird Phase II-A, an official statement said.
Project Seabird Phase II, which was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security in 2012, calls for the extension of facilities to accommodate more warships and the construction of a new state-of-the-art Naval Air Station, among other things.
A significant part of the work is being carried out by reclaiming a part of the sea and a hilly terrain along the coast, involving several technical and environmental challenges. It entails the construction of a host of facilities to be set up at an estimated cost of $ 2 billion.
Phase II-A is an extension of the Naval base spread across 11,169 acres. It covers an armament depot, dockyard complex, and missile silos, apart from additional jetties berthing and anchorage facilities. The project is expected to harbour around 60 ships, including at least 30 warships submarines, and yard crafts.
The Naval Base in Karwar, INS Kadamba, is India’s third-biggest naval base, and it is expected to become the largest naval base in the Eastern Hemisphere once Phase II of the development is completed. Karwar is home to the Navy’s lone aircraft carrier, the INS Vikramaditya.
The site also houses the first sealift facility in the country, a one-of-a-kind “shoplift” and transfer system for docking and undocking ships and submarines.
Phase I completed in 2005, comprised construction of a deep-sea harbour, breakwaters dredging, a township, a naval hospital, a dockyard uplift centre, and a ship lift.
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