A panel of the Ministry of the Environment approved the controversial 16,610 hectare project on the large island of Nicobar. According to a report, the Rs 750 billion project will include the development of a greenfield international airport, an international container terminal, a township and a power plant.

“The Indian Ocean region in general and the Indian Ocean in particular has become a strategic hotspot in recent years. In response to the increasing strategic value of this IOR, a critical mass of development in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is needed for strengthening India's regional presence," the report said.

In 1989, the island was designated a Biosphere Reserve and in 2013, it was included in the UNESCO Human and Biosphere Project. According to the assessment, the projects will require the removal of approximately 850,000 trees and the destruction of 12-20 hectares of mangrove forests. This will result in significant coral destruction and will claim approximately 298 acres of seabed.