Andaman submarine fiber project

On 21.09.2016, the union cabinet approved the proposal for provision of submarine optical fibre cable connectivity between Mainland (Chennai) and Port Blair and to five other islands – Car Nicobar, Little Andaman, Havelock, Kamorta and Great Nicobar of Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Capex for the project to be met from USO Fund was estimated at Rs 880.03 crore which was inclusive of all applicable taxes & duties, 10 per cent project management fee, and 3 per cent contingency charges due to variation in bill of quantity (BoQ). This excluded octroi and local taxes. The exchange rate of was considered as Rs 67 per US dollar.