Thailand has taken a decision to build a road-cum-rail over-bridge on the Kra Isthmus, Admiral DK Joshi (Retd), Lt Governor of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands told an India Foundation organised seminar in Delhi.
The rail segment will comprise 45-km of track that would enable goods to be trans-shipped directly from the Gulf of Thailand to the Andaman Sea.
While it will enable China to get around the Strait of Malacca choke point, India’s presence in the Andaman’s and the plans for a transshipment hub on Great Nicobar give this country the strategic heft to manage China’s entry, he said.
Admiral Joshi updated the list of projects that are transforming the islands.
An undersea cable connects Chennai to Port Blair stretching more than 1.400-km across the Bay of Bengal. Another one is planned between Puri in Odisha or Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh to Diglipur in north Andaman.
Physical connectivity will include airports every 250-km with 24-hour flights. Seaplane services are expected to begin by the end of the year, Admiral Joshi said, underscoring that “We want to be the biggest seaplane operator in the world. The Maldives currently has 120 in operation.”
In addition to the International Container Transshipment Port at Galathea Bay at the southeastern tip of Great Nicobar Island, there is also a deep-water port coming up at Atlanta Bay near Diglipur.
The bay does not require any dredging and is being developed as a multipurpose port with potential for 10-km of jetty space. There are also plans to develop ship repair and ship building in the future.
Regarding use of diesel fuel, currently it is at around 65% with solar at 26%. Plans are underway to reduce diesel to the minimum necessary with more space for solar and wind. Admiral Joshi also let on that there are plans to install small and modular reactors but these are at an early stage.
