“The helicopters stay in Koksijde, that was already good news, but now we are adding a scoop. Our basis is also becoming a army base,” says Mayor Sander Loones enthusiastically. “That means that hundreds of new soldiers, with their families, come to Koksijde. We are an aging municipality who will now get a lot of young people.”
Koksijde will not be the only military terrain where changes and extensions are planned. Also in Lombardsijde at Middelkerke, a lot is on top, according to Loones. By the summer, Defense Minister Theo Francken should be ready with his upbringing plan for the Belgian army.