Long wait for the Coast Guard officials in Visakhapatnam Headquarters have come to an end, as the CG Headquarters, New Delhi, has received the final sanction from Ministry of Defence towards setting up of Coast Guard Air Enclave in Visakhapatnam on July 8. The officials confirmed it in a release here on Wednesday.

According to release, sanction was given towards construction of hangars, apron and link taxi track in five acres of Airport Authority of India (AAI) land in the city. The construction process will commence as soon as formalities are completed between the AAI and the Coast Guard.

At present, one Pollution Control Vessel (PCV), two Off-shore Patrol Vessels (OPV), four Fast Patrol Vessels (FPV) and one Chetak helicopter is based inVisakhapatnam to ensure Pollution Control, Coastal Security and Search and Rescue in the region. With the establishment of CG Air Enclave at Visakhapatnam, the air assets of the force will be augmented to ensure enhanced surveillance, sea-air coordinated operations, safety of fishermen at sea and coastal security set-up, they said.

The officials also said that in future course of time, Coast Guard is planning to position Dhruv helicopters and Dornier aircraft at Visakhapatnam to increase its security dimension in view of the increasing economic activity in the Bay of Bengal.