The contract for deforestation of forest areas was concluded with JSC "Latvian State Forests/LVM", which carries out the works in accordance with the Forest Law, the Cabinet of Ministers' regulations, as well as the certificates provided by the State Forest Service.
As stated by the Defense Ministry, the 25,605-hectare base is planned to ensure maximum respect for the rights of private owners and the freedom of movement of the population - most of the training area is planned to be located on forest land.
Michigan National Guard engineers have also contributed to the development of the Sēlija military training ground, reports the Defense Ministry portal "sargs.lv". The engineers provided their vision on potential design and development scenarios of the base to help better understand how to make the most efficient use of the available land.
Engineers from the Latvian National Armed Forces have visited the Michigan military training ground for an exchange of experience.
The Ministry of Defense started building the international military base "Sēlija" in 2022. The need for a new military training ground is justified by the decision taken at the NATO Summit for the Baltics to increase NATO multinational battle groups to brigade level in each country. In Latvia, the battle group will be led by Canada.
Last June, the Saeima adopted the law on the establishment of the Sēlija military training ground, locating it in the territories of the Jēkabpils and Aizkraukle municipalities and granting it the status of a national interest facility. The training base is planned to be operational by the end of 2025 and fully completed by 2030.
The defense budget earmarks EUR 36.5 million for the first phase of the base. The total cost of the entire base could be around €700 million.
