Exclusive: '3 July' Naval Base... Must-Know Facts, Purposes

The Armed Forces have establish three new naval bases during 2020, as part of the keenness of the Egyptian General Command of the Armed Forces on continuous development and modernization.

The first base was Ras Banas in the Bernice area. The second is East Port Said naval base. The third one is still under construction in Gargoub district in the Al-Nujaila area; Matrouh governorate.

The 3 July Naval Base Between Facts, Figures

The Gargoub base is called "The 3 July Naval Base." It's located west of Matrouh on the Mediterranean coast roughly 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Libyan border.

Egypt shares an extended border with Libya, around 1,250 kilometers.

It's main mission to preserve the western part of the Egyptian northern coast on the Mediterranean and secure a number of major projects and new cities there,  most importantly the El-Dabaa nuclear plant, that will be constructed by Russia's Rosatom soon.

It's expected that the 3 July naval base will be part of the Egyptian Northern Fleet that guards the country's Mediterranean coast.

The new 3 July base is expected to contain a wide range of naval equipment, including one of the two helicopter carriers Egypt acquired from France in 2016, media reports said.

Inauguration of the New Base

[caption id="attachment_241751" align="aligncenter" width="380"] Jordan's King receives Egypt’s FM - File Photo[/caption]

In March, Jordan's King Abdullah II received Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who was heading a high-ranking official delegation, to participate in the meetings of the Jordanian-Egyptian Joint Higher Committee.

King Abdullah II and Madbouly discussed ways to expand cooperation between Jordan and Egypt, as well as joint efforts to confront the coronavirus epidemic and its repercussions.

During the meeting, the Egyptian Premier convoyed an oral message from President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to His Majesty the King, and an invitation to attend the opening of the 3 July Naval Base in the Gargoub area. However, the inauguration date of the new base is not specified yet.

Other New Bases Built 

The East Port Said Naval Base will oversee securing the northern entrance to the Suez Canal on the Mediterranean, protecting and securing the port and city of East Port Said and the northern coasts of Sinai, and securing the entire Egyptian economic waters in the eastern Mediterranean.

As for the Berenice base, it was inaugurated in mid-January 2020, the base is located north of the Halayeb triangle on the Red Sea. The base was established to relieve pressure on the Safaga Naval Base, the headquarters of the Southern Fleet, and to be a starting point close to the southern Red Sea, supporting the fleet’s work and securing the southern borders to the Bab al-Mandab Strait. This base is considered the third largest in the world, and the base includes formations of the air and naval forces, as well as from the ground forces.