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T.E. Raja Simhan

Chennai, Jan 6 The Andaman & Nicobar Islands plans to improve its port infrastructure with a Rs 500-crore project to establish a dock and ship repair facility at Port Blair. It will be executed as a public-private partnership project.

Being closer to the international ship route and to the major ports on the east coast, and ports in Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia, the repair facility could cater to the requirement of ships visiting these ports.

The Port Management Board of the Island itself has around 100 ships that require annual maintenance works. Currently, the ships of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands are sent to either Colombo or Kolkata port for annual maintenance, according to a source.

There are around 540 islands within the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and of these, 29 islands have inhabitants. The 100 plus ships of the Board crisscross the islands to provide basic requirement, including food and water, said a source. The Port Management Board plans to conduct a feasibility study and financial viability of the project.

If found viable, the project will be awarded to a private entity through a competitive bidding process. A consultant will be appointed to prepare the techno-economic feasibility report.

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