The construction of the NATO base in Romania, estimated to cost 2.5 billion euros, is described as the largest in Europe and will house 10,000 military personnel.
According to Euronews, the 2,800-hectare base will be located in Constanta, Romania’s Black Sea port.
The base’s infrastructure will be built on the existing Mihail Cogalniceanu NATO air base.
The new base will include runways, weapons platforms, hangars for military aircraft, as well as schools, kindergartens, shops and a hospital.
Romanian expert Dorin Popescu said in a statement that the decision to build the base was taken because of the protracted conflict in Ukraine.
The Mihail Cogalniceanu air base currently hosts around 5,000 troops, mostly Americans.
The first NATO base in the Western Balkans opened in Albania in early March. Located 80 kilometres south of the capital Tirana, it is the alliance’s largest project in the country. According to local officials, the base is designed to ‘protect Albania from Russia’.
