India is moving forward with an ambitious $9 billion infrastructure project on Great Nicobar Island that aims to transform the remote island into a major maritime, aviation, and military hub in the Indo Pacific region.
The massive development plan includes a deep-sea megaport at Galathea Bay, a new international airport near Campbell Bay, expanded military infrastructure, roads, tourism facilities, and a planned township that could dramatically reshape one of India’s most ecologically sensitive island regions.
Officials say the project is strategically important because of the island’s location near the Strait of Malacca, one of the world’s busiest shipping corridors through which nearly 30% of global trade passes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described the Great Nicobar project as crucial for strengthening India’s maritime and air connectivity in the Indian Ocean region and countering China’s growing strategic influence across the Indo-Pacific.
Security experts say the island’s location, just around 175 kilometres from Indonesia, gives India a significant military advantage. Analysts have compared Great Nicobar to an “unsinkable aircraft carrier” because it allows closer monitoring of major shipping routes and regional naval activity.
The first phase of the project, estimated at nearly $4 billion, includes construction of the megaport and airport and is expected to be completed within three years. Once operational, the container port is projected to handle more than 20 million TEUs annually, potentially placing it among India’s largest ports and positioning it to compete with regional hubs such as Singapore and Port Klang.
Authorities also plan to expand and modernize airstrips across the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for both civilian and military use. Officials have confirmed that upgraded runways will be capable of handling heavy cargo aircraft and defense operations.
However, the project has triggered growing opposition from environmentalists, tribal rights groups, and some local residents.
Nearly 95% of Great Nicobar remains covered by biologically rich tropical forests surrounded by coral reefs and lagoons. Scientists warn that large-scale deforestation and urban development could severely damage fragile ecosystems and threaten rare wildlife species that remain poorly studied.
Rights organization Survival International has warned that Indigenous communities on the island, particularly the isolated Shompen tribe, face existential risks from expanding development and outside contact.
The island is home to around 1,200 Indigenous residents, including the Nicobarese and the Shompen people, one of the world’s most isolated hunter-gatherer communities. Critics argue that increasing construction, migration, and tourism could permanently disrupt their traditional way of life.
The government has insisted that environmental safeguards and protected tribal zones are being maintained. India’s environmental authorities and courts have so far cleared the project, saying its strategic importance outweighs objections raised by activists.
Still, some long time settlers on the island say they are being displaced without adequate compensation. Residents whose land falls within the airport and development zones have accused authorities of offering insufficient rehabilitation support.
Environmental researchers have also questioned the project’s economic viability and warned that relocating wildlife, clearing forests, and planting compensatory trees elsewhere cannot replace the ecological value of the island’s ancient rainforest systems.
The island’s population is projected to surge from roughly 9,000 people today to more than 336,000 by 2055 under government development plans. Tourism projections estimate annual visitor numbers could eventually exceed one million.
At the same time, Indigenous communities on nearby islands are already witnessing rapid social change. Some younger tribal members have begun joining local police forces and engaging more with the outside world, reflecting the growing influence of state led development across the archipelago.
The Great Nicobar project is increasingly being viewed as a test case for how India balances strategic expansion, economic ambition, Indigenous rights, and environmental protection in one of the world most sensitive island ecosystems.