Soon, India will have an airport at the southernmost edge of its territory on Great Nicobar Island. The Centre has started work related to the Great Nicobar International Airport, which is set to come up near the Six Degree Channel — a strategic sea passage in the eastern Indian Ocean.
A dual-use military airfield will be coming up on Great Nicobar Island as part of the project, which will enable New Delhi to deploy larger military aircraft in the region if a situation demands and also considerably reduce response times for defence platforms. The airfield's layout has reportedly been designed such that it is possible to widen the runways and taxiways in the future. This potential widening of runways is intended just to ensure that the Indian Armed Forces could land their larger aircraft on the island if needed. However, the Centre plans to use medium-category platforms in the initial stages of the airfield's operations, a report said.
The government has initiated the process by inviting consultants for the strategic development, CNN-NEWS18 said in a report. As per the blueprint of the upcoming airport, the military airfield is designed to be operational alongside a civil aviation facility equipped with all modern features, the report said.
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The Indian Navy will be entrusted with the air traffic and airside operations, while the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will be responsible for passenger terminals, civil aprons, and related facilities. "Civil flight operations will follow the established framework used at existing joint-use naval air stations. A detailed operational agreement defining civilian movement parameters will be finalised before operations begin," the CNN-NEWS18 report said.
The Great Nicobar International Airport is a major boost not only for India's defence sector but also for tourism and commerce, as Port Blair's Veer Savarkar International Airport — the closest airport in the region — is about 540 kilometres away, the report pointed out. "Its location near one of the world’s busiest international maritime trade routes gives it exceptional strategic relevance," the report added.
Why the Six Degree Channel matters?
The Six Degree Channel is rated among the busiest and most critical maritime shipping lanes in the world. It is the primary entry point for ships coming from the Suez Canal or the Persian Gulf toward the Strait of Malacca, which leads to the South China Sea and the Pacific, a report showed. The Indian Navy and Coast Guard are needed to keep a constant vigil over this "choke point", which witnesses the passing of thousands of commercial vessels and oil tankers each year.
Having a military airfield in its vicinity is thus a great win for India, as the Andaman and Nicobar Command — India’s only integrated tri-service command — closely oversees this area.