Andaman and Nicobar Islands Lieutenant Governor D K Joshi on Thursday said the ambitious Great Nicobar Island Project will be a game-changer for India's maritime trade and help establish the Islands as a major logistics hub in the Indo-Pacific region.
Great Nicobar Project Set to boost India’s Maritime Trade
He said the project is now set to enter its first phase, with the International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) being one of its key components. It is a specialised deep-water port where massive ocean-going "mother ships" offload cargo. The terminal is expected to play a significant role in boosting India's maritime trade.
According to Joshi, the terminal will have the capacity to handle around six million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of cargo in the first phase. The project is estimated to cost around Rs 20,000 crore, and authorities aim to complete it within three years of the start of construction.
Why is this project significant?
India currently lacks enough deep-water ports to handle the world's largest cargo ships. As a result, a large portion of Indian cargo is routed through foreign ports such as Port of Colombo, Port of Singapore and Port Klang, leading to a loss of potential revenue. To address this, the government is developing the ICTT at Galathea Bay as part of the Great Nicobar Project.
ALSO READ: Why India May Be The Biggest Winner Of Iran-US Peace Deal | EXPLAINED
The port is also being built near one of the world's busiest East-West shipping routes and is located about 40 nautical miles from the international sea lane. It also has a natural water depth of more than 20 metres, making it suitable for large container ships. The terminal is expected to reduce India's dependence on foreign ports, attract international cargo traffic, boost trade and strengthen India's strategic and defence presence in the region.
Strategic location near the Strait of Malacca
The Great Nicobar Island, located at the southeastern edge of the Bay of Bengal, lies around 1,600 km from mainland India and close to the western entrance of the Strait of Malacca. The island is situated near major East-West shipping routes that connect the Gulf and Europe with East Asia, including China, Japan, and South Korea.
The Strait remains one of the world's most important maritime passages as it links the Middle East with Southeast Asia. The route is particularly important for China, which depends on the strait for nearly 80 per cent of its crude oil imports and around two-thirds of its trade. Because of its location, Great Nicobar could play a key role in helping India monitor shipping activity in the region.
“This island has a strategic value because it is sitting right at the mouth of Malacca…And if it is [developed as] a commercial setup, no one would be able to object. It is a great place to monitor all the traffic, coming in and out of the strait…It would give India an edge in maritime domain awareness,” Shekhar Sinha, a former vice chief of the Indian Navy, told Al Jazeera.
ALSO READ: Big Boost To India's Fuel Reserve As Natural Gas Discovered In Andaman Basin; Why Is It Significant?