THE US military is to foot the bill of up to $70 million (BD26.4m) for a new road connecting Mina Salman to Juffair. The road, which will begin from the existing APM Terminals facility at Mina Salman, will primarily serve the US Navy's Naval Support Authority (NSA).
"The whole project would cost between $40m (BD15.1m) and $70m and construction would begin in the next six months," NSA Public Works Director Lt Commander Dan Grippo told the GDN yesterday.
"The road is expected to 'feed' the NSA as well as serve the people of Juffair.
"It will be built as an overpass on the road leading to the new Shaikh Khalifa Causeway and construction will begin as soon as APM Terminals moves to its new base at the Shaikh Khalifa Port."
He said the project would be carried out with the co-operation of the Works Ministry and funded as part of the US government's Military Construction Programme.
Lt Cdr Grippo also revealed that the 66-acre US naval base in Juffair was worth an estimated $580 million (BD202m).
"If this facility were to be rebuilt from scratch today, it would cost that much considering the state-of-the-art and modern facilities we have in there," he said.
Lt Cdr Grippo was speaking as he guided journalists on a trip inside the facility on the occasion of Earth Day.
The weeklong celebrations at the NSA began on Sunday and will conclude tomorrow.
As part of the event children from the Bahrain School planted a tree in front of the Freedom Suq, a 188,000 square-foot facility that houses the Navy Exchange (NEX); Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) departments, post office and Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU) under one roof.
Navy men and women also planted trees at other locations both inside and outside the base.
Lt Cdr Grippo said the US Navy was staging the event to give something back to the Bahraini community.
Facility
"This huge facility, which houses around 2,500 men and women, is located on Bahrain's land and it is all thanks to the authorities that we have set up this infrastructure," he said.
He said the navy was keen to keep the base clean and respect the local environment.
NSA regional environmental co-ordinator Awni Almasri added that the base generated around 1,000 tonnes of rubbish every year - most of which was recycled.
"We have separate bins and containers for different kinds of trash and ensure all the trash goes in the proper place," he said.
He added that a local dealer removes all recyclable rubbish.
"What cannot be recycled is destroyed," said Mr Almasri, who also revealed the base was working on harnessing solar power for some of its facilities.
"This should be happening soon," he said.
mandeep@gdn.com.bh
