In a Facebook post, Prime Minister Edi Rama has announced that during the recent NATO Summit it was decided that NATO will build its first air base in the Western Balkans in Albania.
The air base will be located in Kuçova, built during the communist dictatorship and still home to dozens of decommissioned old Albanian Air Force MiGs.
According to Prime Minister Rama, NATO will invest more than €50 million for the first phase of the project to modernize the current air base, which he claims will start already this year:
The NATO Council has approved the decision to build the first NATO air base in the Western Balkans in Albania.
With NATO funds and through a partnership with the government of the Republic of Albania, NATO will invest more than €50 million, just for the first phase of modernizing the air base of Kuçova.
Through this project, which is expected to start within this year, Kuçova will serve as support base for NATO for air support, logistical support, support for aerial policing, and trainings and exercises of the Alliance.
Kuçova will at the same time serve as the national base for the Albanian Air Force and this strategic investment of NATO into Albania will bring a new standard for our armed forces.
Without a doubt, an investment of this size creates new possibilities for the economic and social development of the entire region where the construction of this new air base with the last technology is planned.
In parallel there are direct discussions with our strategic partner, the USA, for the further modernization of the aerial capacity of Albania. Soon it is expected that common decisions of these discussions will be send for approval to the American Congress.
