Initiated as Project Seabird some two decades ago, INS Kadamba, near Karwar in north Karnataka, is the first exclusive naval harbour on the western coast. It is located 580 nautical miles from Mumbai, currently the navy's principal base and home to its largest formation, the Western Fleet.

Six frontline naval ships, including frigates and destroyers will sail into the base's anchorage Tuesday and berth at the newly built jetty to mark the inaugural event.

The navy initially plans to berth 10 ships, including destroyers, frigates, corvettes, auxiliary ships and offshore patrol vessels at the base.

INS Kadamba, named after a fourth century dynasty that ruled the area, is spread over 4,480 hectares. It was identified as the ideal site for a strategic naval base thanks to the natural protection the topography provides and because of its bays and offshore islands.

When fully operational, the base will be the biggest naval facility to the east of the Suez. It will comprise a naval air station, a naval armament depot and a ship repair yard. This yard will include a Rs.1.5-billion ship lift system to carry out repairs on multiple warships unlike conventional dry docks that can accommodate only a single ship at a time.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha May 11, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the base would be made operational in a phased manner.

"Besides the state-of-the-art facilities for the navy's futuristic requirements, the base will provide berthing, administrative, maintenance and support services to naval warships," Mukherjee said.

Of the total manpower requirement of 2,901 personnel, the government has sanctioned 1,541. The remaining 1,360 posts are under consideration. A little over 1,219 posts will be reserved for civilians.

According to former navy chief Admiral (retd) Oscar Stanley Dawson, who spearheaded the project, Karwar's craggy hilly terrain in provides the right camouflage to ground installations and prevents detection by spy satellites.

"Karwar is a strategic location for our maritime operations, with such facilities and advantages no other base on the western or eastern seaboards can offer. Just half a mile into the sea with sufficient water depth, the base provides right positions for defence posts," Dawason told IANS here.

Besides Mumbai, the navy also has bases at Visakhapatanam and Kochi.

"Unlike the naval docks in Mumbai and Vishakapatanam, where warships jostle for space with merchant vessels and face commercial port activity, the Karwar base will allow the navy to optimally position and manoeuvre its operational fleet.

"During war, the navy will be able to disperse its forces quickly unlike in Mumbai, which has outgrown its utility and become congested," Dawson pointed out.

Then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had laid the foundation stone of the base in October 1986 but the project hit roadblocks due to litigation over land acquisition and rehabilitation of the displaced people, including fishermen and farmers.

"Originally, the entire project was estimated to cost just Rs 17.6 billion and was to be executed in seven years. But it got shelved due to inadequate allocations in defence budgets," Dawson said.

"When the project was revived in the mid-1990a, the cost shot up to Rs.25 billion in three phases. With the first phase bifurcated in two stages and the second phase scheduled to happen only after 2010, the revised estimates are projected to be about Rs 350 billion," Dawson added.