Marines Get $113 Million for New Base Camp

Work on a $113 million project for a strategically located U.S. military base to support Marine relocation is soon to get underway.

A joint venture between construction firms Granite and Obayashi has been awarded a contract to build new facilities at Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz in northwest Guam to support the Marine Expeditionary Force 9^th Engineer Support Battalion.

Construction work for the project, expected to commence in October, includes erecting low-rise facilities to support the Marines. The buildings will feature reinforced concrete structural frames, walls, floors, roofs, and shallow foundation systems.

The project will also include the construction of an auto organization shop, an electrical/communications maintenance shop, organic storage, a vehicle wash rack, and a vehicle laydown area.

“We are honored to continue our partnership with Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Pacific on this critical mission,” said Curt Haldeman, Granite’s vice president of regional operations.

“This contract not only strengthens our relationship with NAVFAC Pacific but also reinforces our role as a key contributor to the successful realignment of Marines from Okinawa to Guam.”

Granite was previously tapped as the primary constructor of the main cantonments for the new Marine Corps base.

The project is expected to be completed in January 2027.

Newsweek has approached Granite for comment via online contact form.

Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz is the first newly constructed Marine Corps base in 70 years.

According to an official release from the U.S. Marine Corps, Guam was chosen as the location for the new base during the 2012 Bilateral Agreement between the U.S and Japanese governments, under the Defense Policy Review Initiative, which set the framework for the relocation of Marines from Okinawa to Guam.

Situated on Guam’s northern plateau, Camp Blaz will serve as a strategic hub in efforts to strengthen the ability of the U.S. and its allies and partners for collective defense and to promote regional security, the release said.

The base was named in honor of Brigadier General Vicente Tomas “Ben” Garrido Blaz, the first Chamorro Marine to attain the rank of general officer.

“I believe that on the horizon lies the opportunities that Ben (Blaz) wished for our people,” Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero at the time.

“No longer are we dealing with challenges and isolation, we are cultivating a more sustainable and comprehensive Indo-Pacific allyship. The future of Guam is inseparable from the future of the broader Indo-Pacific and the success of the Marines is inseparable from the success of Guam’s people.”

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