NATO has picked an airport in western Hungary as a base for its strategic air transport fleet to carry troops and military cargo, it was reported Monday.
Hungarian Defense Minister Imre Szekeres told reporters Sunday NATO selected the western town of Papa from a short list that included Ramstein in Germany and Constanta in Romania, the Budapest daily Nepszabadsag reported Monday.
The Papa airport will be the base for three or four Boeing C-17 Globemaster III transport planes. The first plane will arrive in late 2008 and the others in 2009.
The planes will play major roles in carrying NATO troop replacements deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Hungarian news agency MTI said.
The huge C-17 Globemaster III strategic aircraft can transport 77 tons of cargo a distance of 2,760 miles.
Apart from 200 NATO troops and Boeing mechanics, about 500 Hungarian civilians are to be employed at the base.
NATO has invested about $47 million in upgrading the Papa airport since 2006, but after deciding to use it as the strategic fleet base, the facility is to undergo additional improvements.
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