The U.K. will build a new communications facility on one of two bases it maintains on the eastern Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus, a British Defense Ministry spokesman said Friday.
The facility will be built at a disused site at Dhekelia Garrison on Cyprus’ southeastern corner.
The U.K. retained the bases when Cyprus gained independence from British colonial rule in 1960.
The bases incorporate a large airfield at RAF Akrotiri and an important electronic intelligence gathering station at Ayios Nicolaos situated around 175 kilometers (109 miles) from Syria’s Mediterranean coastline.