Port Blair, Oct 15: Islands of India hold immense unexploited potential for fostering growth & achieving cohesive socio-economic-development in the region.
With this aim, Islands Development Agency (IDA) was set up in June 2017. IDA is an apex body under the chairmanship of Hon’ble Home Minister. It is supported by NITI Aayog to co-ordinate & provides guidance on the holistic development of the Islands.
It is expected that the gains from the promotion of infrastructure & tourism on the Islands can be leveraged to significantly contribute to GDP of country besides kick starting forward & backward linkages & giving an impetus to the economy.
The pristine beaches of Andamans coupled with rich tropical vegetation can be developed as prime tourist hotspots. It has the potential to be developed as comparatively more economical & far more attractive alternative to conventional destination like Bali & Maldives.
In the first phase, four Islands namely Long Island, Aves Island, Smith Island &Shaheed Dweep were identified for holistic eco- tourism projects in Public-Private Partnership. It is proposed to set up eco-tourism resorts having 220 rooms in Long Island, 120 rooms in Shaheed Dweep, 70 rooms in Smith Island and 50 rooms in Aves Island. Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) has granted CRZ clearance for the projects subject to certain terms and conditions. Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) and Standing Finance Committee (SFC) Government of India has accorded in principle approval for the projects and application for Request for Qualification (RFQ) is being issued shortly.
The work on the second phase of holistic development of A & N Islands is already underway. A total of twelve Islands/sites have been identified in the second phase as follows:-
• Ram Nagar Beach &Kalipur Beach in North Andaman
• KarmatangBeach, Amkunj Beach & Raman Baghicha Beach in Middle Andaman
• Beonadabad, North Bay, Goodwill Estate, Rutland Beach, Flatbay Islands, Wright Mayo Creek in South Andaman
• Butler Bay Beach & Kalapahar Beach in Little Andaman
A Consultant to assist A & N Administration is to be selected by NITI Aayog for developing Concept Development Plan and Detailed Master Plan for the development of these twelve Islands/sites.
A Request for Qualification (RFQ) cum Request for Proposal (RFP) for the appointment of consultant is already floated by NITI Aayog. In this regard a pre-bid meeting with prospective bidders was recently held on 30/9/2019.
The selected Consultant has to develop Master Plan for the holistic development of eco-tourism projects while considering sustainability of the project within 13 months of the award of work.
These eco-tourism projects on PPP model shall be supplemented by development of support infrastructure including connectivity, jetty, internal roads, solid waste management, etc. Andaman and Nicobar Island shall figure prominently in the World Tourist Map after the full execution of the projects envisaged.
