Shantanu Thakur, Union Minister of State for Port and Shipping, recently visited Andaman and Nicobar Island recently and oversaw the development activities in the pipeline for the islanders with respect to port-related infrastructure.
Soon after the same, owing to the government’s vision to accelerate the development of Indian ports and associated sectors, an official statement from Kolkata announced that an Expression of Interest (Eol) would be floated by the end of January, for India’s first and largest mega container transhipment port at Galathea Bay in Great Nicobar Islands.
Talking about the same, P L Haranadh, Chairman of Syama Prasad Mookherjee Port, Kolkata (SMPK), formerly known as Kolkata Port Trust, said, “This Rs 17,000 crore port will help transhipment of cargo from the entire east coast of India as well as from Bangladesh and Myanmar.”
He also added, “The government is planning to build a container transhipment port at the southernmost tip of Andaman and Nicobar Islands at Galathea Bay. SMPK will float an Eol from interested investors by the end of January. “The Eol will help us seek their feedback from global port operators, maritime service majors and shipping liners. After this process, a detailed Detailed Project report will be prepared for the project for seeking bids.”
Another official recorded, “The transhipment port would enable big ships to anchor and raise India’s share in maritime trade, create new job opportunities and save a lot of forex.”
