Kalistani Major History

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Naval Base at Dulnerstaad begins to take shape
Years-long dredging of the harbor completed on schedule
Dulnerstaad, Ananto
March 7, 4762


Dredging complete, the groundwork for the new Naval Base Mainside at Dulnerstaad is laid

Major sea operations at the planned Dulnerstaad Naval Base have been completed, on schedule.  The work took three full years, and cost more than 750 million KRB to complete, but the combined effort between civil engineers, military planners and multiple private construction firms has provided Kalistan with its first new deep water port since the construction of the Bozo River facility more than 300 years ago.  Construction now moves to Phase 2, the construction of a new Naval Facility

Dulnerstaad, the ancient port city and several times capital of Ananto, fell out of use during the early part of the 2000s.  Since then, the city has become a sleepy town which was home to Kalistan's fishing industry. Given its relative isolation, despite it being so close to the capital, the town represents a prime spot for development of new facilities.  It overlooks the Northern Anantonese Sea, and the main sea lanes going between Keris, Dovani and Seleya, and guards the eastern approach to the Ananto Strait.  As such, it also serves a strategic function. 

Vice Minister of the Navy Tomas Hernandes, who has been charged with rehabilitation of Kalistan's Regular Naval forces, said "The development of a new facility at Dulnerstaad will serve the Republic, both in terms of providing a base closer to Kalistan's capital, but also as a place to host visiting fleets from other countries.  The Bozo River facility hasn't hosted a major foreign fleet for centuries, and serves primarily now as a combined arms base for training.  Having a new facility which is closer to strategic soft points will allow Kalistan more flexibility and will be more attractive to foreign fleets who wish to stop over, refeul and refit, and potentially base in Kalistan."

Phase 2 of the project is expected to take more than 5 years to complete, and will involve the construction of harbor facilities, as well as Mainside facilities, command HQ buildings and infrastructure and base housing.  Unlike the Bozo River facilities, the base will not include a combined arms training area or a large scale air strip.  "We have other air bases in the area," said Vice Minister Hernandes, "and Bozo River meets training needs for Ananto and the Republic as a whole.  We can save money and time by not including these at Dulnerstaad."

Another concern is geography.  While Dulnerstaad's importance as a fishing city has declined due to overfishing of the grounds in the Northern Anantonese Ocean, it still supplies much of the seafood for Ananto District, and large scale naval activities in the area can potentially alter the fishing grounds.  Stavros Smth, a local fisherman expects the base to have a moderate impact on his own operations.  "Luckily, the base is built south of the city, at the old port.  We won't be able to use that area anymore to launch, but the National Government has agreed to build us a new harbor adjacent to the base, so that we can launch from there and not get in the way of the ships who are headed further out."

The base is, however, expected to dramatically change the character of the town.  Said Smith, "We rather enjoy the rusticness of our fine little town.  Its kind of nice to be forgotten up here.  But we can already see it:  a massive influx of people associated with the base has almost increased our population by 50 percent.  Given that our town is right up against the Sea, and there are foothills beyond, building new houses for all these people will be a problem."

The Finance Minister, Isabella Castillo, stated that such matters would be met with the appropriate degree of financing.  "It is in the interest that Kalistan develop its infrastructure.  I envision that Dulnerstaad will be well taken care of to meet the challenges and opportunities that this development will provide."

The largest effort of Phase 2 will come in the next two years, as the old harbor is rehabilitated and improved, including rebuilding the crumbling ancient jetty which stretches out to sea, and has, in many places slipped completely beneath the waves.  Work on the harbor is scheduled to begin this month, while mainside construction has already commenced.