TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) on Friday (Oct. 27) held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new helicopter hangar at Taipei’s Songshan Airport.

The facility will be a new base for the National Airborne Service Corps’ (NASC) Blackhawk helicopters, according to Minister of the Interior Lin You-chang (林右昌). A new NASC office building and barracks are also planned, Lin said, per CNA. The construction project has a budget of NT$3.4 billion (US$104.82 million), he added.

Upon completion of this project, it will enhance NASC’s rescue capabilities in northern Taiwan, including the outlying islands, Chang said. He added that the MOI coordinated with the Civil Aeronautics Administration and the Air Force Songshan AB Command to make the project a reality, after six previous failed attempts.

The hangar is expected to be completed by 2028, he said. In 2021, Taiwan received six new Blackhawk helicopters, three of which will be stationed at Songshan Airport. The other three will be based in Kaohsiung.

All six helicopters are fitted with upgraded equipment such as military-grade infrared thermal imaging cameras and internal auxiliary fuel tanks. These enable the aircraft to perform day and night maritime search and rescue missions and will extend the scope of Taiwan’s flight information region.