Union Shipping Ministry Great Nicobar Island Project

Union Ministry of Shipping came up with a development plan especially on Great Nicobar Island to form a global port-centric city and discover the top-end tourists destination. The cost of the project has been estimated to be ₹72,000 crore and the proposed infrastructure includes an international cruise terminal, a ship-breaking yard, a defense-civilian airport. While it has claimed for economic change, it has led to much controversy because of the negative impact to the environment, strategic consequences, and insufficient openness.

Key Points 

• A proposal for which was made by the Union Shipping Ministry in the year 2025.

• Budget: ₹72,000 crore.

• It is designed to construct a world city anchored in a major port city and premium travelling destination.

• Key components: An international cruise terminal facility, ship-breaking yard, military-civil airport and a container transshipment port at Galathea Bay.

• It is a greenfield township spread across 130sq km in pristine forests.

• These sectors are run by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation Ltd (ANIIDCO).

Recent Developments

In April 2024 the Ministry of Shipping planned to purchase 100 acres of extra land in Campbell Bay for ship repair and shipbuilding. They also recommended that Campbell Bay should be earmarked as an export-import port in order to efficiently feed construction materials for the trans-shipment terminal. 

The Andaman and Nicobar Group of Islands: Key Facts

• Location and Extent

  • Geographical Position: Located in southern part of India, in the Bay of Bengal.

  • Coordinates: Stretch across latitude  6° 45′ N to 13° 41′ N latitude and 92° 12′ E to 93° 57′ E longitude.

  • Size: with total length of approx 590 km and width of about 58 kms.

The Andaman Islands

• Area: 260km x 30 km

• Sub-Groups:

  • North Andaman

  • Middle Andaman

  • South Andaman

The Nicobar Islands

• Area: It stretches to a length of 262 km and is 58 km at its widest point and has an area of 1, 653 sq km.

• Sub-Groups:

  • Northern Group: Includes Car Nicobar and Battimalv.

  • Central Group: Chowra, Katchal, Camorta, Trinket, and Nancowry are among the large islands in the group.

  • Southern Group: Includes Great Nicobar, Little Nicobar, Kondul and other islands.

• Prominent Feature:

  • Great Nicobar: Greatest and last island of the chain and only 147 km from Indonesia on the island of Sumatra.

  • Indira Point: This a spot referred to as the southernmost region of India.

  • Habitation: Of them, only 12 islands are populated by ethnic groups such as the Nicobarese and Shompen.

Physical Characteristics

• Separation:

  • The Ten Degree Channel separates the Andaman Island from the Nicobar Island.

• Terrain and Composition:

  • The formation of the reservoir originated from volcanic activities hence consists of tertiary sand stone limestone and shale.

• Volcanic Islands: Barren Island an active volcanic region and Narcondam Island.

• Coral Island: It comprises mainly of coral islands most of which are of mountainous nature.

• Highest Peak: Saddle Peak is at a height of 737 meters in the district of North Andaman.

Other Notable Features

• Island Name Changes (2018):

• Ross Island →Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island

• Neil Island → Shaheed Dweep

• Swaraj Dweep → Havelock Island

Environmental Concerns

The local authorities have received a lot of criticisms from the environmental conscious personnel who noted that the project may pose a great threat to the ecosystem. Much of coastline is under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) which will protect Coral reefs and other marine life. The opposition’s main complaint is that mega projects threaten to permanently alter the ecosystems of unspoiled forest and ocean.

ANIIDCO indicated competition between the proposed ship repair facilities and tourism development;, indicating that the process of industrialization as well as ecological conservation entails certain contradictions.

Conflicting Objectives

Two parallel discourses of strategic security and economical development contributed to the emergence of paradox. While the government uses the threat of national security to control information flow, concentrating on the hi-tech tourism and cruise terminal may lead the island to an open forum where it can be influenced internationally. Critics state that such development go against decades of conservation policies intended to maintain Great Nicobar as remote and natural island.

Besides, the local government’s position and the public response have also been explored. The Andaman and Nicobar administration has expressed an agreeable but cautious stand towards the project but recommends hiring professionals who will evaluate the possibility of some of the proposed aspects such as the cruise terminal. They also want more consideration given to the export-import port proposal.

At the same time, the public continues to be divided. The environmental and social impacts to the project have been so commented on by local residents as well as conservationists. They have been subjected to legal suits and activist pressure demanding an understanding of the feasibility of the project’s operation and respect for the law of ecology.

Conclusion

The Great Nicobar initiative represents an audacious plan to mobilize the area into an economic strident and strategic plan. However, its success hinges on reconciling competing priorities: benefitting development, security, and environment sustainability. Embracing the principles of transparency and shareholder's involvement in decision-making will be the key to not falling victim to the imperialist dream of the Great Nicobar construction in terms of losing the priceless value of its geological and ethnographic specificity utterly.