India’s huge new megaport off Southeast Asia gets green go-ahead

India’s environmental court has given the go-ahead to the strategically significant Great Nicobar infrastructure project despite widespread concerns of ecological damage to the island in the Andaman Sea.The National Green Tribunal on Monday dismissed a batch of petitions objecting to the megaproject on ecologically sensitive Great Nicobar island – around 160km (100 miles) northwest of Indonesia’s Aceh province – saying “adequate safeguards” had been taken into account.The infrastructure plan involves building a transshipment port, airport, power plant and a township on the island, located close to the Strait of Malacca, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. It aims to transform about 166 sq km (64 square miles), or nearly 18 per cent, of Great Nicobar’s total land area.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is looking to pour billions of dollars into connecting the island to global trade routes, after the project was granted initial environmental approvals in 2022.India’s environment minister last September called it a project of “strategic, defence and national importance” which would transform Great Nicobar into a major hub of maritime and air connectivity in the Indian Ocean region.The Andaman and Nicobar archipelago has also long been seen within India as key to countering China’s growing influence in the region.An aerial view of Katchal Island, one of the Nicobar Islands located around 120km north of Great Nicobar. Photo: AFPBut activists say the infrastructure drive may adversely impact the ecology of the island, result in the felling of hundreds of thousands of trees and harm the interests of local tribal groups.