The Great Nicobar Island (GNI) Project is a large-scale, ₹92,000 crore Greenfield infrastructure project conceived by NITI Aayog and launched in 2021. The project is a strategic development plan, not an act or a scheme, that aims to transform the southernmost island of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago into a major economic and strategic hub. The proposal to develop Great Nicobar Island was first introduced in the 1970s for national security, but the current iteration was created to leverage the island's proximity to the East-West international shipping corridor and the Malacca Strait. The problem it seeks to solve is India's reliance on foreign transshipment ports like Singapore and Colombo, while also strengthening India's maritime security presence in the Indo-Pacific.
The project is implemented by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO). Its mechanism is based on four integrated components: an International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) at Galathea Bay, a dual-use military-civil Greenfield International Airport, a 450 MVA gas and solar-based power plant, and a new greenfield township. The development is planned in phases over the next 30 years and covers approximately 166.10 sq. km of the island.
The GNI Project connects directly to India's Maritime Vision 2030 and the Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, positioning India as a major player in the Indo-Pacific. It also involves the EIA Notification, 2006 and the ICRZ Notification, 2019, as it requires environmental clearance and the diversion of forest land. A key recent change involves the de-notification of 73.07 sq. km of Tribal Reserve for the project, which is being compensated by re-notifying 76.98 sq. km elsewhere, resulting in a net addition to the reserve area. The project has faced legal challenges, with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) approving it while imposing stringent conditions to protect the environment and the indigenous Shompen and Nicobarese communities.