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Shirleys Bay is emerging as the preferred location for the new Department of National Defence operational headquarters expected to cost taxpayers around $1.1 billion.

Planning recently started for what will be called the National Defence Operational Headquarters, a facility that will be home to 4,500 civilian and military personnel. The headquarters will be in addition to the new DND headquarters at the former Nortel campus on Carling Avenue which, when fully occupied, will house almost 9,000 employees.

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The DND will also keep its massive complex in downtown Ottawa at 101 Colonel By Drive.

The new operational headquarters, to be constructed in the mid to late 2020s, will be located close to the Nortel site. It would be home to various commands, such as the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command and the Canadian Joint Operations Command, confirmed DND spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier.