Sat Jan 04 23:27:00 UTC 2025: ## Great Nicobar Island Mega-Project Expands Despite Secrecy Concerns

**Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands – January 5, 2025** – The ₹72,000 crore mega-infrastructure project on Great Nicobar Island is expanding, adding an international cruise terminal, high-end tourism infrastructure, and a ship-breaking yard, according to internal government documents. These additions, proposed by the Union Shipping Ministry, raise concerns given the government’s simultaneous refusal to release information about the project’s environmental impact citing national security.

The project, already encompassing an international container port, airport, power plant, and a large township, has faced criticism over its potential environmental damage to the pristine island. While Stage I forest clearance was granted in October 2022, multiple Right to Information (RTI) requests for details regarding environmental clearances have been denied, citing Section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act, which protects information affecting national security.

The Shipping Ministry’s recent proposals, revealed through internal correspondence over the past eight months, include a 100-acre seafront site for shipbuilding and ship-breaking, and the designation of Campbell Bay as an export-import port. The Ministry envisions transforming Great Nicobar into a “Global Port-Led City” with a focus on high-end eco-tourism.

However, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO), responsible for implementing the project, has expressed reservations about the feasibility and compatibility of the new proposals with existing plans, particularly concerning the impact on the planned tourism infrastructure and the environmentally sensitive coastline. ANIIDCO has recommended that the Shipping Ministry conduct its own feasibility study.

Environmental activists have criticized the lack of transparency, noting the incongruity between the government’s claims of national security concerns and the promotion of projects that will increase foreign vessel traffic and tourism, potentially compromising the island’s strategic isolation. The government’s refusal to provide details on the environmental impact and the strategic rationale for the new proposals has fuelled concerns about the project’s overall sustainability and its potential consequences for the island’s ecosystem and national security. The Shipping Ministry has yet to respond to requests for clarification.

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