Print Kremlin preparing its Black Sea fleet to leave Sevastopol.

Axis Information and Analisys

10.03.200618:03 (GMT) - News

Russian Black Sea fleet is going to leave Sevastopol, and the USD 2 billion worth new base is being built in a great haste in Novorossijsk, Interfax-AVN (Military News Agency) reports. The main Black Sea fleet’s naval base in Novorossijsk will be fully constructed by 2016, the reserve base is under construction in the area of Gelendjik and Tuapse. Additional warship piers are being equipped at Anapa and Temryuk. For the ten year period within which the new Black Sea base is to appear, Rbs 56 billion is allotted, Interfax-AVN is quoting the former commander of the Black Sea fleet, Admiral Victor Kravchenko as saying. Rbs 1 billion out of this amount should be used within the first four months of 2006, then the government will allocate Rbs 2 billion more, the agency adds. In 2005 only Rbs 900 million were appropriated for the improvement of Novorossijsk base, and only Rbs 6 billion had been planned to spend for the period till 2017. The port of Novorossijk will be enlarged, its aquatorium will be significantly deepened. Pierses for about 30 warships (each piers ar the cost of Rbs 150 million), breakwaters, coast installations and facilities – repair base, cuartels, headquarters, fuel and material depots, armories are to be built as well, Interfax-AVN writes. Currently the manpower of the fleet is about 18,000 men, almost all of them are located at Sevastopol. Even if the personnel is curtailed, at least 10,000 families should depart to Novorossijsk. Taking into account the ten-year period of construction and vast amount of work one may say that Rbs 56 billion will not be enough and additional funding will be needed. But the military infrastructure is to grow not only at the expense of the flet; to cover the navy base, new airfields and anti-aircraft missile complexes will be needed, as well as radar stations, storehouses, armories and, firing grounds, that means additional tens of billions of roubles will be needed, too, Interfax-AVN concludes.