A new runway at Mihail Kogalniceanu base

Tuesday saw the official start of work on the new runway at Mihail Kogalniceanu air base, the first military runway built in Romania after 1990.

It is part of a complex project to modernise and expand the air base over the next 16 years, as RRA correspondent Sorin Cealera reports.

New runway, operational in 2027

The new runway at Mihail Kogalniceanu will be 3.500m long and 45m wide and will be able to operate the full range of NATO aircraft as well as civilian aircraft.

The project, at an estimated cost of 340 million lei excluding VAT, about 68 million euro, includes a flight simulator, staging, maintenance and communications areas and is part of a series of military investments in recent years.

"The fact that for six years 2% of GDP has been directed to defence is having an effect, so it's nothing unexpected. It is simply part of the vision that the Romanian Army has in terms of the role that citizens have entrusted to it", said Minister of National Defence Angel Tilvar.

The runway will mainly serve the F16 aircraft squadron, which will become part of the base's organisation chart as part of the contract signed by Romania with Norway.

"We want to prepare sufficient infrastructure and capabilities so that the other assets, structures and detachments needed to build up any security arrangement can be deployed in our region in the shortest possible time", says the commander of the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base, Commander Nicolae Cretu.

According to the contract signed in 2022, the implementation period for the design and execution works is five years.

The new runway should become operational in 2027.

Translated by: Radu Matei