New Delhi: Expressions of Interests (EoIs) will be invited by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways to develop an international transshipment port project at Great Nicobar Island in the Bay of Bengal.
According to a release by the ministry on Friday, the project is expected to be complete with an investment of Rs 41,000 crore ($5 Billion), which includes investment from both the government and PPP concessionaires.
The EoI will be released on the e-procurement portal on Saturday. The mega International Container Transhipment Port (ICTP) at Galathea Bay of Great Nicobar Island of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal will have the capacity to handle 16 million containers per year. Phase one of the proposed project will be commissioned in the year 2028 and will handle a capacity of 4 million TEUs in the initial phase, the ministry said.
The estimated cost for phase one of the proposed transshipment port is around Rs 18,000 crore which includes the construction of breakwaters, dredging, reclamation, berths, storage areas, building and utilities, procurement and installation of equipment and development of the port colony with core infrastructure is going to be developed with the government support.
The project focuses on three key drivers, according to the ministry, strategic location in terms of proximity (40 nautical miles) with the International shipping trade route, availability of natural water depth of over 20 metre, and carrying capacity of transhipment cargo from all the Ports in the proximity including Indian Ports.
The project is located on the international trade route, with existing transhipment terminals like Singapore, Klang, and Colombo in proximity.
