The Narendra Modi government's ambitious plan for a transhipment terminal and other infrastructure projects on the Great Nicobar Island, piloted by the NITI Aayog, has cleared the first major hurdle in its way.
After a series of meetings in March and April, the 15-member Environment Appraisal Committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has “recommended the proposal for grant of Terms of Reference.”
The plan proposes the construction of a transhipment terminal, a greenfield international airport, township and area development and a 450 megavolt amperes gas and solar based power plant on Great Nicobar, the southernmost and largest of the Nicobar Islands, and India's southernmost territory.
Earlier, in a meeting on 17 and 18 March, the Expert Appraisal Committee had deferred the proposal as it needed additional information from the proponent.
According to the proposal, the International Container Transhipment Terminal will come up in the Galathea Bay, in the south eastern part of the Great Nicobar island, only 90 km away from the western end of the Malacca Strait, the shortest shipping route between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.
Experts believe a significant portion of this container traffic could be transhipped through an Indian terminal in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, if one is built. The terminal could also emerge as a major transhipment hub for other countries in the region, including Bangladesh and Myanmar.
A transhipment terminal in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands — the most technically and financially feasible location is Galathea Bay — will be closer to India's eastern coast, Bangladesh and Myanmar than Singapore and Klang, which currently serve as major transshipment hubs in this region.
A 2015 report on the website of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways says nearly 70 per cent of cargo from Bangladesh and Myanmar gets trans-shipped in Singapore. At least some of this could shift to the transhipment terminal in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, if one comes up.
The transhipment terminal in the Galathea Bay will be very close to the 200-kilometre-wide Six Degree Channel, through which a vast majority of international trade transiting the Strait of Malacca passes. The region also has potential for a deep draft of 18 to 20 m, which means the terminal will be able to service large vessels.
Although the Environment Appraisal Committee has cleared the first hurdle, it has suggested that the government also explore alternate sites.
