PM Modi Announces Rs 10,000 Crore Trans-Shipment Port In Great Nicobar Island To Increase India's Share In Maritime Trade

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (10 August) announced that the strategically important Great Nicobar island will get a trans-shipment port with an investment of Rs 10,000 crore, reports Times of India.

The new port will enable large ships to anchor, increasing India's share in maritime trade and creating new employment opportunities.

The announcement by PM Modi came during the inauguration of the 2,300 km long submarine optical fibre cable connecting Andaman and Nicobar islands with Chennai.

A detailed project report (DPR) for the building of a transshipment port in the South Bay in Great Nicobar Island was prepared several years ago.

PM Modi's announcement of the project for the archipelago comes as a stronger commitment to the development of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The Island Development Authority has already awarded the task of re-evaluating the DPR to WAPCOS, which is a public sector undertaking under the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti.

The project, once realised, could become an alternative for Colombo port as a major trans-shipment hub given its location and closeness to the channel connecting China, Japan and Australia.