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Ali Base dedicates new Airfield Complex

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Elizabeth Gilbert
  • 407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
ALI BASE, Iraq --  A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held here March 27, 2010 to commemorate the opening of a new air traffic control tower, runway lighting system, instrument landing system and renovated runways and aprons.

The ceremony was attended by Iraqi and American dignitaries, followed by an airfield tour and dinner.

The opening of the 104 foot tower, the tallest structure in southern Iraq, is the capstone to a $61.7 million military construction project designed to improve overall airfield operations. More than 469 thousand tons of concrete was poured in the completion of helicopter and aircraft aprons, renovated runways and the tower.

According to Col. Lou Danner, commander, 407th Air Expeditionary Group, "This tower and airfield will eventually serve the needs of the people of southern Iraq far into the future, just as the friendship of the Iraqi and American people will remain strong far into the future."
The project was awarded to Kellogg, Brown and Root, or KBR, Sept. 30, 2008 and was overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region South.