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Gaurav Raghuvanshi

Ahmedabad , March 7

TO better protect the economic assets in the western parts of the country, the Indian Air Force plans to beef up its presence in Gujarat.

As part of the effort, Ahmedabad will soon get a small IAF base while a new base at Disa in north Gujarat is expected to get off the ground soon.

"There are several economic clusters in this part of the country that we need to protect. As of now, there is no air base between Jamnagar and Pune. Also, with the headquarters of the South Western Air Command (SWAC) shifting to Gandhinagar, there is a need to build facilities for IAF planes to operate from Ahmedabad," the SWAC Commander, Air Marshal Mr S.K. Jain, said here on Monday.

SWAC is entrusted with the task of protecting the country's economic interests in Gujarat, Maharashtra and large tracts in Rajasthan.

The Reliance and Essar refineries at Jamnagar, Bombay High, LNG facilities at Hazira and Dahej, the Indian Petrochemicals and Chemicals Ltd (IPCL) plant at Baroda, along with several industrial clusters in Bhuj, Surat, Vapi and Navsari, are some of the key assets in this area.

The Ahmedabad facility, being built at a cost of Rs 10.2 crore, is expected to be operational by October and will be used by the transport aircraft of the IAF. These aircraft will also take care of the IAF's internal transport needs.

"We will use the air base for transport operations. But it will be fully equipped to handle fighters if any contingency arises. It will have all facilities for aircraft maintenance and crew to rest," Air Marshal Mr Jain said.

Last week, the IAF laid the foundation stone for a new fighter base at Phalodi in southern Rajasthan, and is planning another base at Disa in north Gujarat.

The Disa project is likely to cost Rs 250-300 crore. The IAF is working out the nitty-gritty.

In addition, the air base at Baroda, which has a transport squadron, is being upgraded, and the final blueprint of the new SWAC headquarters at Gandhinagar would be submitted for Cabinet approval in three months.

"We are working on the detailed cost estimates of the new SWAC headquarter buildings at Chiloda on the outskirts of Gandhinagar. We have got about 120 acres of land from the Army for the new facility that would cost Rs 50-60 crore," he said.

The SWAC currently operates out of the Old MLAs' hostel in Gandhinagar.

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