“The work on renovating the Rushikonda Beach Resort into a world-class tourist destination will be completed by next year”, said Special Chief Secretary to the Andhra Pradesh State Government (Youth Services, Archaeology, Tourism and Culture), Rajat Bhargava IAS. Speaking on Friday, about the ongoing and planned development works, he highlighted the new tourism projects proposed in Vizag and other districts.
As a part of the city development plans, the Rushikonda Beach Resort is being renovated to provide tourists with a better beach experience. Also, it has been announced that the proposed extension of the Beach Road, from Bheemili to Bhogapuram, will be taken up by the Infrastructure and Investment Department. The Special Chief Secretary also said that the Bangladeshi ship, MV MAA cargo vessel, which is currently stuck near Tenneti Park, would be converted into a floating restaurant at an estimated cost of Rs 10.50 crore. Another project will be the development of a tunnel aquarium at Thotlakonda Beach, under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode at a cost of Rs 163 crore. This aquarium will have themes such as Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Shark Lab, Shipwreck, Indian Rivers, and Mediterranean Cave. A Tunnel Reef Restaurant, souvenir shop, and lecture halls for training and education will also be included. Also, resorts have been planned to come up at Lambasingi under the eco-tourism project.
It may be recalled that ten beaches including Sagar Nagar, Thimmapuram, Mangamaripeta, Chepala Uppada, INS Kalinga, Erramatti Dibbalu, Bheemunipatnam, Nagarampalem, Annavaram and Kancherupalem, had been proposed to be developed along the beach corridor from Kailasagiri to Bhogapuram. These beaches will have a lot of facilities, much like Rushikonda Beach, for the tourists, including washrooms and changing rooms, drinking water, food courts, first aid, a CCTV control room, a safe swimming zone and a water treatment plant.
Some of the other tourism projects proposed for Vizag include three jetties at Bheemili Beach, Annavaram Beach and Bhogapuram Beach, which will protect the shorelines, the development of Buddhist sites such as Bavikonda and Thotlakonda, a 120m high Sky Tower with mini–amusement Park at Kailasagiri under PPP mode and major upgrades at The Indira Gandhi Zoological Park.
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