The South Korean military says construction will end in late February on the base in Afghanistan for its Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT). The base for the PRT and the authorities tasked with protecting them is in Charikar, in the northern Afghan province of Parwan.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said construction on the base is 47 percent of the way done. Construction on key facilities, including the control room, is slated to end late in October, while the hospital and police headquarters will be completed before March.

JCS says the completion of the first stage of construction has been delayed by about a month to October because of Ramadan, the ongoing fasting month for Muslims. In line with this, the 89-member protection unit will begin operations in October, rather than in late August.

JCS added that after the allied forces’ major offensive in Helmand Province led by the U.S. and Afghanistan government in February, the region neighboring Parwan is witnessing an increase in enemy activities.

The military says that in response it has stepped up security measures to defend the construction site in Charikar.