Great Nicobar Island lies at the entrance to the Strait of Malacca, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Around a third of global maritime trade, including most of China's energy imports, passes through here.
But the island itself - part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar - is sparsely populated, largely covered in dense rainforest and known for its rich biodiversity. It is also home to endangered and isolated indigenous peoples.
Rainforest is being cut down
Here, the Indian government is planning a giant port with a price tag of $9 billion. The project is of great strategic and defense importance, claims Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The plan is to counter China, secure Indian interests and strengthen control over critical sea lanes.
But the project is facing criticism. The construction of the port with its associated airport, power plant and city means that at least 160 square kilometers of pristine rainforest will be cut down, according to opposition leader Rahul Gandhi.
"This could be one of the biggest frauds and the biggest theft of Indian ecological property ever," he said in a video on X .
Threatens isolated people
Around 9,000 people live on the island. Of these, 1,200 belong to various indigenous peoples, including the Shompen people, who live in isolation as hunters and gatherers.
Last year, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav claimed that the project posed no threat to either ecologically sensitive areas or the island's indigenous people. Human rights organization Survival International disagrees.
"In addition to devastating the local environment and the Nicobar indigenous people, the Great Nicobar project would completely destroy the Shompen, a largely uncontacted people who live in the rainforest," the organization's Sophie Grig told the AFP news agency.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are two island groups in the Bay of Bengal. Together they form a union territory of India.
The number of islands amounts to just over 800, but only about 30 of them are inhabited.
The capital is Port Blair on the island of South Andaman.
The British arrived in the Andamans in the 18th century and in the mid-19th century established a penal colony on South Andaman.
The Nicobar Islands were briefly Danish in the mid-18th century and were then called the Frederiksøarna. In 1869 the Nicobar Islands became British and were annexed to the Andaman Islands.
Between 1942 and 1945, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were occupied by Japan. With India's independence in 1947, both island groups became Indian.
Some of the islands are home to small communities of various indigenous peoples. To protect them and their environment, it is forbidden for outsiders to visit these islands.
Sources: National Encyclopedia
