US Invests $200 Million in Rota Base, Solidifying Spanish Foothold

Former US Senator Robert Greenway, known to be close to President Donald Trump, had proposed that Washington transfer its Rota base to Morocco. "It’s time to move the Rota naval base and the Morón air base... to Morocco," he had said in a tweet, giving free rein to rumors about a possible transfer of these bases to Morocco. Greenway’s statement came in a context of tensions between Washington and Madrid. Pedro Sánchez had opposed Donald Trump’s proposal for all NATO countries’ military budgets to reach 5% of their GDP.

According to Vozpopuli, it appears that Greenway’s proposal will not be adopted and that the two US bases will remain in Spain. The Spanish media reports that Washington has recently approved two projects to improve the facilities of the Rota base. The first, with a budget of $100 million, concerns the construction of four missile warehouses, a loading station for forklifts, a munitions reconditioning and repair workshop, as well as the demolition and construction of a new recycling center. These works should last three and a half years.

The second project is related to the construction of a maintenance hangar for C-5 and C-17 aircraft, both used for transport missions. At a cost of $100 million, the work should take two years. The United States has also issued a call for tenders for the construction of two new storage tanks capable of holding 50,000 barrels of fuel. This project should require an investment of $25 to $100 million and last 909 days.