AFP,
Malaysia's 800-million-ringgit (211 million dollars) first submarine base in Sabah state on Borneo island will be completed by late 2007, a year behind schedule, deputy defence minister Mohamad Shafie Apdal said Sunday.
Shafie told AFP the delay was due to some problems in site preparations but this has been sorted out and construction has since proceeded smoothly, with work on phase two covering the technical aspects to begin soon.
The Sepanggar Bay naval base, located about 25 kilometres from Sabah's capital of Kota Kinabalu, will house Malaysia's first fleet of underwater warships from France when it is ready, he said.
Some 8,000 officers and men are expected to be stationed at the base to boost security along Malaysia's long and porous border.
“Malaysia has one of the longest coastlines in the region. The base will greatly improve our navy's control over the border line, protect marine resources and boost intelligence gathering,” Shafie said.
The subs, equipped with sophisticated radar and new systems, will monitor movements in Malaysian waters in the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea, he added.
Malaysia will be the second Southeast Asian country to have submarines after Singapore, which has four subs designed and built in Sweden.
