Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the groundwork for a new air base at Deesa in the Banaskantha district of north Gujarat, close to the India-Pakistan border, on October 19. According to reports, once completed, the air base will close a long-standing strategic gap of 355 kilometres between the Air Force station in Bhuj and Uttarlai.
Following the laying of the foundation stone, Prime Minister Modi stated that the Deesa air base will serve as an effective security hub for the country.
The Prime Minister also said that after his government came to power, they decided to set up an operational base in Deesa, and “this expectation of our forces is being fulfilled today”.
“The international border is just 130 km away. If our forces, especially the Air Force, are in Deesa, we will be able to respond in a much better way to any challenge on the western border,” he said.
Greenfield air base
Deesa is a 4,519-acre greenfield air base being developed in the Banaskantha region. Officials from the Indian Air Force (IAF) stated that the land was purchased in 1983. Currently, the campus has minimal infrastructure, including 20 watch towers and a 22-kilometer boundary wall.
The Centre granted permission to build a full-fledged air base in 2020. The airbase will be built in two phases at a cost of around Rs 980 crore, according to officials.
In Phase 1, the main runway, parallel taxi track, loop taxi track, and fighter sqn dispersal area, as well as roads and drainage systems, will be constructed. Construction of
balanced technical infrastructure and domestic housing is planned for phase 2.
The Engineer in Chief Lt Gen Harpal Singh informed that the entire airbase has been worked out in a manner such that it will all finish by December, 2023.
