Jinnah Naval Base ( ur, ) is a strategic
naval base of the
Pakistan Navy
ur, ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔ English language, English: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!(''Quran, Qur'an, Al Imran, 3:173' ...
located at
Ormara,
Balochistan,
Pakistan. It is named after Pakistan's founder,
Mohammad Ali Jinnah. It is Pakistan's second largest naval base.
Location
Jinnah Naval Base is situated about 240 km west (149 miles) of
Karachi at Ormara in Pakistan's Balochistan province. By land, via the
Makran Coastal Highway it is 350 km (217.48 miles) from Karachi and 285 km from
Gwadar.
Construction history
The
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
approved the proposal of constructing of the naval base away from the maritime boundaries of India, and initially awarded the contract to two
European countries–
Belgium and
Turkey– with the
ground breaking ceremony taking place on 17 March 1994.
The project was aimed towards spending
₨. 4.5
Bn (500
Mn. USD), and the contract was awarded to Turkish firms,
STFA Group
STFA Group is one of Turkey’s rooted conglomerates providing services in the construction, energy distribution, construction equipment and construction chemicals.
Founded in 1938 by pioneering contractors Sezai Türkeş and Feyzi Akkaya, STFA ...
and STM, Belgium firm,
Jan De Nul, and Pakistani firms,
FWO and
MES.
The project was timelined for a naval base to be operational by March 1997.
On 22 June 2000, the Jinnah Naval Base was inaugurated by then-
Chief Executive Gen.
Pervez Musharraf in a ceremony attended by Faruk Bal, the Turkish Minister of State, and
V-Adm. Taj Muhammad.
Gen. Musharraf had termed the opening of the base as a long-standing requirement of the Pakistan Navy and had become a reality after many years of hard work.
Work on selection of the site for the Jinnah Naval Base commenced in 1990. The contract was awarded to
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
company
STFA and
Jan De Nul of
Belgium for offshore and land development in December 1992. Construction of the Base began in 1994 and the Base was inaugurated on 22 January 2000 by General
Pervez Musharraf. The Base was constructed at a cost of Rs. 4.5 billion.
Salient features
Jinnah Naval Base can provide berthing facilities to eight
warships and four
submarines
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely o ...
at a time. This facility can be expanded in future with the expansion of the Base. The Base is currently in the process of modernization to meet Pakistan's increasing defence needs.
To develop future naval officers,
Cadet College Ormara has been established.
Submarine base
In April 2014,
Pakistan Navy
ur, ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔ English language, English: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!(''Quran, Qur'an, Al Imran, 3:173' ...
announced that it is in the process of shifting primary operations and naval assets, including its entire fleet of diesel-electric submarines (SSKs), from
Karachi to the Jinnah Naval Base in Ormara.
Pakistan Navy to shift submarines from Karachi to Ormara
/ref>
See also
* PNS Ahsan
* PNS Makran
* PNS Mehran
* PNS Qasim
* Karachi Naval Dockyard
* Karachi Shipyard
References
{{reflist
Pakistan Navy bases
Military installations in Balochistan, Pakistan
Pakistan Navy submarine bases
Memorials to Muhammad Ali Jinnah