New Delhi — India’s planned development of Great Nicobar Island could strengthen the country’s position along major Indo-Pacific shipping routes while creating a new port, aviation and logistics center in the Bay of Bengal, according to a report.
The Rs 81,000 crore Great Nicobar Island Development Project includes an international container transshipment terminal, a dual-use airport, a power facility and new urban development.
Great Nicobar’s location near the Six Degree Channel and the Strait of Malacca places it close to one of the world’s busiest maritime corridors. The island is about 40 nautical miles from the East-West shipping route connecting the Indian and Pacific oceans.
Galathea Bay, where the transshipment terminal is planned, has a natural depth of about 20 meters, allowing it to accommodate large cargo vessels and tankers, the report said.
The proposed airport would serve both civilian and military aircraft and is designed to handle as many as 4,000 passengers an hour at peak capacity.
A 450 MVA power plant would supply electricity to the port and an integrated township. Plans for the area also include new urban centers at Campbell Bay and Galathea Bay, industrial facilities, a cruise terminal and resorts.
The project is intended to combine commercial development with national security objectives. The report said the new airport and port infrastructure could support the deployment of military aircraft and naval vessels, expanding India’s ability to monitor activity in the Andaman Sea and nearby maritime routes.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands also provide India with an exclusive economic zone of about 600,000 square kilometers in the eastern Indian Ocean, representing roughly one-third of the country’s total maritime economic zone.
The report identified possible offshore energy resources as another factor in the islands’ economic importance. Oil exploration in the surrounding waters began in 2020 after the region was opened to such activity.
Environmental concerns remain central to the project because of Great Nicobar’s forests, wildlife and Indigenous communities.
Of the 130 square kilometers of forest land affected by the development, about half will remain untouched, according to the report. An estimated 710,000 trees are expected to be removed gradually over 30 years from the remaining area.
Authorities have planted about 240,000 trees and plan to add another 600,000 before the first phase begins, the report said.
The project is also required to avoid disrupting the island’s Indigenous communities and their settlements. (Source: IANS)
