TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense announced plans for a second Harpoon missile base in Pingtung on Monday (Aug. 26).

The Navy Command began the bidding process for the Pingtung base in June, Liberty Times reported. After opening bids in mid-July, the final contract was awarded on Monday with an NT$1.28 billion (US$41.5 million) value. 

The project is scheduled to begin at the end of August and is set to be completed by August 2027.

The command awarded a contract for the nation’s first Harpoon missile base in Tainan last Thursday (Aug. 22). The military also plans to build a base in Kaohsiung.

To accommodate the Navy’s procurement of Harpoon missiles from the US, the military allocated NT$86.6 billion in 2021 and initiated construction tenders for missile bases this year.

The US approved the sale of 100 sets of land-based Harpoon coastal defense systems to Taiwan in 2020. The proposed sale also included 400 RGM-84L-4 Block II land-launched Harpoon missiles, 411 missile containers, 100 mobile transport vehicles, and 25 radar vehicles. 

Delivery of the weapons is expected to be completed by 2030.