WASHINGTON — The United States is proceeding with plans to establish a
naval presence in North Africa.
U.S. officials said the Defense Department has obtained the approval of
several North African states for a naval presence in their territorial
waters in the Mediterranean Sea. They said the Pentagon was now determining
the size of the naval presence and the facilities required, Middle East Newsline reported.
Officials did not identify the countries that would have a U.S. naval
presence. But they are thought to include Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco and
Tunisia.
The Pentagon has already begun hiring contractors to prepare for such a
U.S. naval presence. The Pentagon has awarded a $15 million contract to
Rogers, Lovelock & Fritz Inc., based in Winter Park, Fla., to design naval
facilities for a range of locations, including North Africa.
Under the contract, Rogers would provide architectural design and
engineering services at "various locations in Europe, North Africa,
Southwestern Asia, Iceland, and the Azores," a Pentagon statement said. The
statement said the project would include both construction as well as
refurbishing of existing facilities.
In 2004, officials said the U.S. military was negotiating with a range of
North African countries for access to naval and other military bases. They
said the bases would contain a small and temporary U.S. presence that would
focus on
counter-insurgency and other missions.
The statement on Jan. 25 said the design projects expected to be
performed under this contract include, administration buildings, religious
facilities, operational facilities, quality of life facilities, schools,
base housing, water and sewage treatment facilities. The contract would be
overseen by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic, based in
Norfolk, Va.
The Pentagon said architect-engineer and engineering services would
include documentation, plans, specifications, cost estimates, related
studies and associated engineering services. Other services would include
shop drawing review, construction surveillance and engineering consultation
services.
The statement did not cite the North African countries in which work
would be performed. It said the contract would be completed by 2006.
