Great Nicobar Project

Consider a remote island in India, with deep rainforests and open seas, ignored for years, that suddenly draws the attention of the Government. This Island is the Great Nicobar Island, a 910-0square-kilometre landmass in the Andaman & Nicobar archipelago. With ancient forests by its side, the Great Nicobar Island is now the strategic trade route plan for India!

On a crisp January day in 2021, the project titled the Great Nicobar Island Development Project GNIDP was announced. The aim: to turn this island into a strategic hub of trade, connectivity and national-security presence. The location matters. Great Nicobar lies very close (just over 150 km) to the Strait of Malacca, a sea-lane through which a large fraction of world trade passes. In other words, the island is at a global crossroads.

Let us walk through what the plan proposes. First, the development covers roughly 166 square kilometres (about 10% of the island) along its southeast and southern coasts.

The major components include:

• A container trans-shipment port at Galathea Bay, designed to handle millions of TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of cargo.
• A greenfield international airport with a long runway, capable of civilian and dual-use operations.
• A power plant combining gas and solar energy to ensure energy supply for the island’s growth.
• A township or special zone for commerce, industry, and residential use, designed to accommodate tens of thousands of people.

The government frames this as both an economic and strategic move: reduce dependence on foreign transhipment hubs, capture cargo traffic, and strengthen India’s maritime presence in the eastern Indian Ocean.

Now the lesser-known side of the story. First, ecology. Great Nicobar is home to one of India’s richest ecosystems. The island is part of a biosphere reserve, with 650 species of plants and over 1800 animal species reported.

Yet the project threatens large-scale changes. Environmental reports estimate that about 9.6 lakh trees may be felled under the current plan. Dredging and land conversion around Galathea Bay may damage coral reefs and marine habitats that are critical for many species.

Second, the indigenous people. The island is home to the Shompen tribe, listed as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), with estimates of only a few hundred individuals. The tribe’s way of life is deeply linked to the forests and land. Large-scale infrastructure may disrupt their territory, their culture and their future. Scholars warn of possible irreversible harm.

Third, seismic risk. Great Nicobar lies in the earthquake-active zone of the Indian Ocean. The 2004 tsunami already struck hard, and experts point out that development in a high-risk zone demands extraordinary caution.

It is not just about factories and ports. The strategic value of Great Nicobar lies in its location near the Malacca Strait and other sea chokepoints. By building major infrastructure here, India may strengthen surveillance, logistics and maritime influence in the Indo-Pacific region. The term “Malacca Strait Gambit” is used by analysts to describe this move.

In short, the island becomes a sentinel, a southern frontier of India’s maritime outlook. That is why the project has both economic and defence implications.

Turning a remote island into a global hub is dramatic, but beneath all the plans lie real people. For the Nicobarese, for Shompen families, for settlers who arrived decades ago, this change brings uncertainty. The question is not just infrastructure but what kind of society will emerge. Will local communities benefit or will they be pushed aside?

For the forests, the corals, the turtles nesting on quiet beaches, their fate hangs in the balance. The project may generate thousands of jobs. That is the official promise. But jobs alone will not heal the loss of ancient trees, silent reefs or tribal hunting trails.

As of now, the environmental clearances have been granted (in November 2022) and early land and feasibility work is underway. Yet many questions remain: How will the monitoring be handled? How will tribal rights be upheld? How will the environmental risks be mitigated?

The island’s transformation is underway, but the outcome is far from certain. Will Great Nicobar rise as a connected hub, or will it become a cautionary tale of development without soul?

This story is not about one island; it is about the balance that needs to be achieved in order to grow with nature. The government needs to develop this strategic location without sacrificing the identity of the vulnerable individuals involved in the process. The question stands still as the commerce tries to figure out its way with the ecosystem of the Great Nicobar seas and rainforests. Can there be development without destroying nature?