The proposed port in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands will have the capacity to handle up to 16 million containers per year and will handle more than 4 million containers in the first phase.
The Department of Ports, Transport and Waterways are inviting players interested in an EOI (Express Interest) to the 41,000 crores international transshipment port project on Great Nicobar Island in the Bay of Bengal.
The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said Friday that the project is expected to be completed with an investment of Rs 41,000 crore ($5 billion), including investment from the government and the PPP assignee.
The proposed port in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands will have a final capacity to handle 16 million containers per year and in the first phase will handle more than 4 million containers.
Other projects planned around the transshipment port include an airport, a town, and a power station, he added.
The project is located on international trade routes adjacent to existing transshipment terminals such as Singapore, Klang, and Colombo.
According to the announcement, the project has three key elements to become a leading container handling port: its strategic location in terms of proximity (40 nautical miles) to international maritime trade routes; 20m, and transshipment capacity.
The holistic development of the island is aimed at bridging gaps in infrastructure and improving economic opportunities for rapidly increasing the size of all types of vessels, from feeders to large intercontinental carriers.
In addition, the proposed infrastructure should be comparable in service level and facilities to world-leading container handling terminals and nearby ports.
