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Great Nicobar Island Development Project

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Great Nicobar Biosphere map.

Great Nicobar Island Development Project[1][2] is a planned mega-infrastructure project for the southern tip of Great Nicobar Island in Andaman Sea of India.[3][1][4] The island comes under the Nicobar district administriation in the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

History

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Feasibility report, commissioned by NITI Aayog, was prepared by AECOM India. On 25 May 2021, terms of reference of project was granted after meeting held by Expert Appraisal Committee.[1]

Geography

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Excluding the area from Campbell Bay on western side of the island to the Galathea Bay in the south and the whole southern tip, the rest of Great Nicobar Island is part of Galathea National Park and the larger Campbell Bay National Park.[5] Galathea River, flowing north to south, meets the Indian Ocean at Galathea Bay.[6] Indira Point in the Galathea Bay, India's southernmost point,[7] is 145 km or 80 nautical miles north of Indonesia's northernmost island, Rondo Island in Sabang district of Aceh province of Sumatra,[8] near to which is Indonesia's deep sea port, Sabang (612 km or 330 nautical miles south of Indira Point), jointly upgraded by India and Indonesia in 2019 under the strategic military and economic collaboration to protect the channel between Great Nicobar Island and Rondo Island.[9]

Holistic Master Plan for this project, outside the Galathea National Park, covers an area of 166.10 sq km covering seven revenue villages, which fall under the jurisdiction of three Gram Panchayats.[10]

Project

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Total project costing ₹75,000 crore (US$9.4 b in 2022)[11] was conceived by NITI Aayog and is being developed by Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDC).[4][1] offering geostrategic importance for defence, logistics, commerce and industries, eco-tourism, coastal tourism, and Coastal Regulation Zone.[12] The project, to be completed in phases over 30 year,[13] includes:

  1. Galathea Bay International Container Transhipment Terminal (Galathea Bay ICTT) on eastern side of Galathea Bay with total 16 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units unit of cargo) capacity,[1] with phase-I capacity of 4 million TEUs.[14][5]
  2. Great Nicobar International Airport (GNIA), a greenfield airport on immediate northeast side of Galathea Bay with peak hour capacity of 4,000 passengers.[1][5]
  3. Great Nicobar Gas and Solar Power Plant (Great Nicobar GSPP) on immediate northwest side of and Galathea Bay with 450-MVA capacity, spread over 16,610 hectares.[1][5]
  4. Two new greenfield coastal cities[1] one on the southeast side of the Great Nicobar Island between Campbell Bay and Galathea Bay and another on southwest side of the Great Nicobar Island to the west of Galathea Bay.[5]

Other project components also include:

  1. Cruise Ship Terminal[5]
  2. Luxury Tourism Resorts Hub.
  3. Industrial Hub.[13]

Existing infrastructure

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INS Baaz bird's eye view.

INS Baaz naval base with existing airstrip at Campbell Bay, under the Andaman and Nicobar Command, connects island with Car Nicobar and Port Blair Air bases.[15][16]

Environmental impact

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See also: Andaman and Nicobar Environmental Team and Society for Andaman and Nicobar Ecology

After weighing the following pros and cons, benefits, risk and mitigation strategies, the project was granted the environmental clearance by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)'s Expert Appraisal Committee in November 2022.[17][18]

Flora

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Due to this project, island will lose 12 to 20 hectares of mangrove cover,[19] which the government will be compensating by afforestation in Haryana's Aravallis as per rules which allow for such remote compensatory afforestation.[11]

Corals

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To mitigate the risk of loss of corals, the corals will be translocated in the reefs around the island.[19]

Fauna

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The Great Nicobar project, located within 10 km radius ecologically sensitive zone near Galthea Bay, threatens rare fauna such as Leatherback sea turtle, salt water crocodile, Nicobar macaque.[19] While the MoEFCC proposed 3 conservation sites on Little Nicobar, Menchal Island and Meroe Island to mitigate risks, the Tribal Council of Campbell Bay opposes these sanctuaries, citing a lack of consultation and their long-standing coexistence with the island's wildlife.[17][20]

Human

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The Great Nicobar Island development project, including planned cities in the region with additional population of over 350,000, raises concerns with Ministry of Tribal Affairs about its impact on the 1,761-member indigenous Shompen and Nicobarese tribes. Despite residing mainly outside the project area, which affects 10% of their reserve, the project's projected population increase poses a significant threat.[21][22] Experts, including genocide specialists and Survival International, warn of potential cultural destruction and disease vulnerability, potentially leading to extinction, citing the Shompen's legal rights under the Forest Rights Act and their lack of immunity to outside diseases.[23]

Present status

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  • 2025 Apr: NTPC invited bid for a 5 MW solar power project with battery energy storage capacity of up to 4 to 12 MWh.[25] 7 deep-sea mining blocks off the coast of the Great Nicobar Island were awarded, and Offshore Areas Mineral Trust as a non-profit autonomous body has been established which will use the funds received for research and expenditure related to mitigate any adverse impact caused to the ecology in the offshore area due to mining operations.[26] 2 of the total 3 gram panchayat in the project area, Laxminagar and Govindnagar, have also granted permission to the project.[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Sirur, Simrin (2022-01-30). "Govt vision for Great Nicobar includes airport & township, some experts think it's 'nonsense'". ThePrint. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
  2. ^ Ramachandran, T. (10 October 2022). "Environmental path cleared for Great Nicobar mega project". Mongabay. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Public hearing on January 27 for Great Nicobar development project". Hindustan Times. 2021-12-31. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  4. ^ a b "Green nod for strategically-crucial Great Nicobar Island mega project, around 8.5 lakh trees to be felled". The New Indian Express. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Great Nicobar: Tribal lands don’t show up on maps as Union govt pushes mega project,thenewsminute.com, 4 Apr2025.
  6. ^ Are Giant Leatherback hatchlings from Galathea Bay being relocated?, The Hindu, 16 Mar 2025.
  7. ^ "Nicobar's bicycle diaries".
  8. ^ "Rondo Island, The Rich Uninhabited Island". Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  9. ^ India seeks to aid Indonesia in developing port in Aceh, Economic Times, 19 May 2018.
  10. ^ a b Two gram panchayats give consent to Great Nicobar infrastructure project, Hindustan Times, 08 Mar 2025.
  11. ^ a b "Trees to be planted in Haryana's Aravallis to make for forest loss in Nicobar". Hindustan Times. 2022-11-27. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  12. ^ Ramachandran, T. "In maps: The extent of destruction being unleashed on the forests of Great Nicobar Island". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  13. ^ a b Fears loom over India's 'Hong Kong' project on a remote island, MSN, accsessed 8 Apr 2025.
  14. ^ a b Bids for Andaman's Rs 41,000-crore mega port project open today., Economic Times, 28 Jan 2023.
  15. ^ "Campbell Bay Airport - VO94 - Airport Guide". AirportGuide. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  16. ^ "4 Airports/Airstrips & 6 Water Aerodromes in Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep Island Region up for Bidding under UDAN 4.0". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  17. ^ a b "Environmental Clearance by GoI MoE". www.nic.in. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
  18. ^ "Strategic important project: MoEF gives green clearance for Centre's Rs 72,000 crore project in Greater Nicobar island". The Indian Express. 2022-11-10. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
  19. ^ a b c "Environmental Impact of this project". www.google.com. Archived from the original on 2022-09-21. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  20. ^ Karunakaran, Rishika Pardikar,Binu (2024-01-09). "TNM Exclusive: Nicobar tribal council opposes creation of wildlife sanctuaries". The News Minute. Retrieved 2024-02-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ Sekhsaria, Pankaj. "'Planned destruction of Adivasi culture and lives': Experts raise alarm over Great Nicobar project". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
  22. ^ "Development of Great Nicobar: strategic imperative and ecological concerns". The Indian Express. 2022-11-22. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
  23. ^ Dhillon, Amrit (2024-02-07). "India's plan for untouched Nicobar isles will be 'death sentence' for isolated tribe". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  24. ^ Karthick, Tarun (2023-03-09). "Tight Slap on Rumour Mongers and Haters of the Proposed Mega Project at Great Nicobar Island as Ten Entities File EOI for Project". Nicobar Times. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  25. ^ NTPC invites bids for 5 MW solar project in Great Nicobar, msn.com, 1 Apr 2025.
  26. ^ Centre approves 7 deep-sea mining blocks off Great Nicobar Island, Scroll, 4 Apr 2025.

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