Kamarajar Port Ltd, India’s only state-owned port run as a company, has been tasked with implementing the Rs 440 billion International Container Transhipment Port (ICTP) at Galathea Bay in Great Nicobar Island, officials said.

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways had earlier designated the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Authority in Kolkata as the nodal agency. That authority has now finalised and submitted the detailed project report to the Ministry, after which implementation responsibilities were transferred to Kamarajar Port Ltd.

It is not yet clear whether Kamarajar Port Ltd will act as the sole implementing agency. Officials suggested the shift reflects the company’s stronger ability to raise funds from the market or attract equity investments compared with a major port authority. Kamarajar Port Ltd is a subsidiary of the Chennai Port Authority.

Initially, the Ministry planned to execute the project through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) comprising four major port authorities — Deendayal, Jawaharlal Nehru, Paradip and V.O. Chidambaranar — each expected to hold a 20–25 per cent stake. The SPV would have developed core infrastructure such as dredging and breakwater construction before outsourcing cargo operations to private specialists.

However, these port authorities expressed reservations about committing funds, as each is pursuing substantial expansion projects, including VOC Port’s outer harbour terminal and new greenfield ports such as Vadhvan in Maharashtra and Bahuda Muhan in Odisha.

The Ministry has notified the Galathea Bay ICTP as a ‘major port’, making it India’s 14th such facility once completed. The port is planned to be developed in four phases, with the first phase offering capacity for 4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). Capacity is projected to rise to 16 million TEUs by 2058.

Galathea will be India’s third international container transhipment hub after Vizhinjam, operated by Adani Ports, and Cochin, managed by DP World.