Port Blair, Feb 20: The Member of Parliament, A&N Islands, Shri Kuldeep Rai Sharma has recently demanded for construction of India's biggest Dockyard in Andaman & Nicobar Islands. 

During the recent budget session, the Member of Parliament submitted 50 demands to the Government of India. Among these demands, a major demand was the construction of India's biggest Dockyard in Andaman.

According to Shri Kuldeep Rai Sharma, almost all the major ports in India, situated in Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, etc. are situated in city areas where there is no scope for further expansion. In contrast, Andaman & Nicobar Islands offer ample space for a big Island to be transformed into a Dockyard, which can provide services to a large number of ships, including the biggest ship of India and also international ships.

"Ships from Andaman & Nicobar Islands are often sent to mainland India for repair and annual survey, but most of the time, the ships are out of service for a very long time. If a big dockyard is constructed in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, then our own ships will be repaired in no time and this will benefit all the islands as shipping is the lifeline of the region," said Sharma.

He added that building India's biggest Dockyard in Andaman & Nicobar Island would benefit thousands of people by providing jobs and generate revenue both from India and abroad. Moreover, when the Government of India is planning to establish a Transhipment Port at Great Nicobar, a lot of foreign ships visiting Andaman can also be repaired at Andaman's Dockyard, which will bring in a significant amount of foreign revenue and generate good revenue for India.

Kuldeep also highlighted that the biggest constraint to development in Andaman & Nicobar is the lack of revenue. "A lot of development work cannot be carried out in Andaman & Nicobar Administration even when there is an interest from the Andaman & Nicobar Administration," he said.

He added that once Andaman & Nicobar Islands starts earning revenue from the proposed Dockyard, Andaman will see massive development and a lot of development work can be carried out with our own money.