{"id":34922,"date":"2025-01-06T18:30:59","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T13:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=34922"},"modified":"2025-01-06T18:31:01","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T13:01:01","slug":"great-nicobar-project-expansion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/06-01-2025\/great-nicobar-project-expansion","title":{"rendered":"Expansion of Great Nicobar Project"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/ Infrastructure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Union Shipping Ministry has proposed a major expansion of the \u20b972,000 crore mega-infrastructure project on Great Nicobar Island.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Great Nicobar project<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Implementing authority:<\/strong> The project is being implemented by the Port Blair-based Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation Ltd <strong>(ANIIDCO).<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Project involves <\/strong>developing an <strong>International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT)<\/strong>, an international airport, township development, and a<strong> 450 MVA gas and solar-based power plant <\/strong>on the island.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The site for the ICTT and power plant is <strong>Galathea Bay<\/strong> on the southeastern corner of Great Nicobar Island, where there is no human habitation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>The Andaman and Nicobar Islands <\/strong><br>&#8211; <strong>Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO)\u00a0ANIIDCO is a quasi-government agency,<\/strong> incorporated in <strong>1988<\/strong> under the Companies Act.\u00a0<br>&#8211; <strong>Its objective<\/strong> is to develop and commercially exploit natural resources for the balanced and environment friendly development of the territory.<br>&#8211; <strong>Its main activities<\/strong> include trading of petroleum products, Indian made foreign liquor and milk, managing tourism resorts and infrastructure development for tourism and fisheries.\u00a0<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Significance of the Project<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Economic Growth:<\/strong> The International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) will position Great Nicobar as a key hub in global maritime trade, boosting regional economic growth.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Strategic Importance: <\/strong>The project enhances India&#8217;s maritime capabilities and reduces dependence on foreign ports for cargo transshipment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sustainability: <\/strong>The <strong>450 MVA <\/strong>gas and solar-based power plant will provide renewable energy, reducing reliance on fossil fuels.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What are the new additions?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The project includes an <strong>international cruise terminal and high-end tourism infrastructure<\/strong>, aimed at transforming the island into a global port-led city with sustainable eco-tourism.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Shipping Ministry has also sought <strong>100 acres<\/strong> of land with a seafront for a proposed ship building and ship breaking facility, and an export-import port.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concerns associated with the project<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Ecological degradation: <\/strong>It will lead to the destruction of around <strong>33,000 acres<\/strong> of biodiversity-rich forests and will threaten marine ecosystems, including coral reefs and nesting grounds for endangered species.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Humanitarian Concerns:<\/strong> The project will lead to the displacement of indigenous communities, <strong>like Payuh <\/strong>with traditional rights over <strong>Mero\u00eb and Menchal Islands, <\/strong>disrupting their livelihoods and cultural heritage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Transparency Issues:<\/strong> Multiple requests for detailed project information were denied under <strong>Section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act<\/strong>, citing reasons of sovereignty, integrity, and security of the nation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concluding remarks<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>While the Great Nicobar Project aims to boost economic growth and strategic presence, it risks environmental damage and indigenous displacement.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A transparent, consultative, and ecologically sensitive approach is crucial to balance development with biodiversity conservation and safeguard the rights of local communities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Andaman and Nicobar Islands<\/strong><br>&#8211; <strong>Location:<\/strong> The islands are located 1,300 km southeast of the Indian mainland in the Bay of Bengal.<br>1. It extends from 6\u00b0 45\u2032 N to 13\u00b0 41\u2032 N and from 92\u00b0 12\u2032 E to 93\u00b0 57\u2032 E.<br>&#8211; This archipelago is composed of more than 500 big and small islands, which are divided into two distinct groups of islands \u2013 <strong>The Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands.\u2018<\/strong><br>1. <strong>Ten Degree Channel\u2019<\/strong> separates the Andaman Islands in the north from the Nicobar Islands in the south.<br><strong>The Andaman Islands<\/strong><br>&#8211; These islands are divided into three major sub-groups \u2013<strong> North Andaman, Middle Andaman, and South Andaman.<\/strong><br>&#8211; The capital city of the Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands <strong>Port Blair<\/strong> is located in <strong>South Andaman.<\/strong><br><strong>The Nicobar Islands<\/strong><br>&#8211; These islands are divided into three major sub-groups \u2013 <strong>Northern Group, Central Group, and Southern Group.<\/strong><br>1. The Great Nicobar is the largest and the southernmost island in the group located in the Southern Group.<br>2. India\u2019s southernmost point <strong>\u2018Indira Point\u2019<\/strong> is located at the southern tip of the Great Nicobar.<br><strong>Other Features<\/strong><br>&#8211; Most of these islands have a volcanic base and are made of tertiary sandstone, limestone, and shale.<br>1. <strong>The Barren and Narcondam islands<\/strong>, north of Port Blair, are volcanic islands.<br>1. Some of the islands are fringed with coral reefs.<br>&#8211; <strong>Saddle Peak (737 m)<\/strong> in North Andaman is the highest peak in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.<br>&#8211; The names of the following three islands were changed in 2018:<br>1. Ross Island \u2013 renamed as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Dweep<br>2. Neil Island \u2013 renamed as Shaheed Dweep<br>3. Havelock Island \u2013 renamed as Swaraj Dweep<br><br><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Andaman and Nicobar Islands\" width=\"320\" height=\"486\" src=\"https:\/\/lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com\/docsz\/AD_4nXfxNdRi2925maxQMZhUwbPakFEaFCUct9FJxYKNdLwN3giEVs4L2EGZsRqaJLGt2d0lGme5gXheHiRGdVcvPezifri3bkXqbPcdHGIKBoMhFLrvkW_nk_gGa4anH4646PCwROvlrw?key=leFeI0SoP5RL5owukG1NK8ho\"><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/great-nicobar-project-shipping-ministry-proposes-cruise-terminal-high-end-tourism-infra\/article69061521.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Union Shipping Ministry has proposed a major expansion of the \u20b972,000 crore mega-infrastructure project on Great Nicobar Island.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34922"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34922\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34923,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34922\/revisions\/34923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}