http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080508/nation.htm#6
India to play host to foreign navies Shiv Kumar Tribune News Service Mumbai, May 7 The planned expansion of INS Kadamba, the naval base at Karwar in Karnataka earlier named Seabird, will enable the Indian Navy to play host to visiting international navies with fleets much bigger than her own. The US navy and the NATO powers are watching eagerly and are looking for bases in the region to beef up their presence as the political temperature in the region has increased several notches. According to naval sources here, once the expansion of INS Kadamba naval base at Karwar is completed in five years' time, it will have a capacity to host 45 warships including simultaneous dry docking facilities for three aircraft carriers. The new airfield, which is a part of INS Kadamba will have a capacity to handle 50 fighter aircraft, including the F16s and the F18 Super Hornet fighters. The United States is already pushing for a comprehensive defence agreement with India to follow on the heels of the Indo-US nuclear agreement. But even before such an agreement is signed, the defence co-operation between the two nations has been strengthened significantly, say sources. Both Indian and the US navies have already begun joint patrolling in international waters. Keeping the sea lanes open from pirates and terrorists on the South China seas is already a stated objective of both navies. Plans for the Defence Policy Group comprising service officials from both India and the USA, according to sources, is charting a deeper engagement between them. Once the defence co-operation agreement between India and the US/NATO comes through, Karwar and the adjoining coastal area of Goa stretching all the way to Sindhudurg in Maharashtra will be opened up to host defence personnel looking for rest and recreation, the sources said. Goa, which is likely to become the centrepiece of the R&R effort, is already sprucing up its infrastructure, which will seamlessly merge with its larger effort to increase tourism. The state is working on building an expressway connecting Sindhudurg to Karwar passing through Goa. Also on the drawing board is an expressway linking Sawantwadi bordering Goa to Panvel on the outskirts of Mumbai, which will allow a road trip from Mumbai to Karwar in about eight to 10 hours. Goa is also increasing the number of casinos gradually to cater to the tourist trade. From the five floating casinos that are to open by this year-end, the number will go up several times in the next few years. There is also a proposal to permit casinos on land so that some of the state's beachfront properties can be opened up to this industry. Even Maharashtra does not want to be left behind. Land on the virgin beaches of Sindhudurg bordering Goa is being acquired by some of the bigger hotel chains in the country. A few like the small Kamat Group of Hotels have already opened several beachside properties to woo the tourist trade. Tax breaks for tourism-related projects are also on the anvil.
