Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi is set to inaugurate on Saturday the ‘3rd of July Military Base’, a new naval base overlooking the Mediterranean near the Egyptian-Libyan border in Gargoub district, the military spokesman announced on Wednesday.

The base is located in Al-Nujaila town, some 70 km west of Marsa Matrouh, according to the military spokesman, who posted a video on Facebook saying that it boasts “facilities that conform to the code of global military bases.”

The base represents “an integrated military scope that forms a launching base to protect the capabilities of the Egyptian nation along the northern and western strategic directions,” the video added.

The new naval base will also witness the execution of the QADER 2021 manoeuvre, according to the military spokesman.

The construction of such bases comes within the framework of the comprehensive development plan for the Egyptian Navy, he added.

These bases represent launching centres to provide logistical support to Egyptian forces in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea to confront the challenges and threats in the region, including protecting Egyptian economic interests and securing global shipping lines as part of Egypt’s role in protecting navigation security in the eastern and southeastern Mediterranean.