Great Nicobar Island Project SRI VIJAYA PURAM (PORT BLAIR): The ambitious Great Nicobar Island (GNI) project at the southernmost end of Indian territory, barely 80 nautical miles from the northernmost island of Indonesia, is now awaiting final Cabinet clearance in coming months after all necessary environmental approvals are in place, highly placed sources have revealed. These sources, closely monitoring the progress of the project now estimated to be worth ₹1 lakh crore to be spent in two phases, said after a prolonged delay, first steps in rolling out the project are likely to be taken once the Union Cabinet clears the proposal. Strategic Positioning The Great Nicobar Island, close to the Malacca Strait, is the main waterway connecting the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. It sits astride important international sea lanes of communications. It’s not far from the Sunda and Lombok Straits in the South China Sea that allows Chinese shipping to traverse between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. The project includes four main components: developing an international container transshipment terminal (ICTT) at the Galathea Bay, a greenfield international airport, an integrated township and a 450 MVA gas and solar-based power plant on the island. International Container Transshipment Terminal The ICTT’s vision is to transform the island into a key participant in the regional as well as global maritime economy of cargo transshipment. It is in alignment with the Maritime India Vision 2030 and is one of the key projects under the Amrit Kaal Vision 2047. The first phase of the ICCT is likely to have a capacity of 4.4 million TEUs annually and will be complete within five years after contracts are awarded. The estimated cost of the first phase of the ICTT is about ₹20,000 crore. To be executed under the public-private partnership model, the proposed greenfield airport (with a peak capacity of 4000 passengers per hour) is also estimated to cost another ₹20,000 crore. In the second phase, the capacity of the ICTT is to be enhanced to 16.5 million TEUs. The eventual cost of the project will approximately turn out to be ₹100,000 crore, the sources added. Join Nitin Gokhale's Strategic Group WhatsApp Channel to get the latest updates from articles on our website and videos on our YouTube Channel: https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaEFVX84SpkNskd4Gq0y Since many of our well-wishers requested a UPI payment id to contribute and support us, here’s the link, which gives us 100% of what you choose: https://stratnewsglobal.com/support-us/ You can also click and buy a YouTube Super Thanks(the heart icon where you liked this video), which directly supports StratNewsGlobal, with 70% of your chosen amount. Leave your comments, questions, and feedback. Like and share our videos. Subscribe to our YouTube channel. Click on the 🔔icon to get notified of our latest uploads. To get instant updates join our telegram circle - https://t.me/stratnewsglobalbroadcast