The Andhra Pradesh cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy on Thursday (today) has taken several crucial decisions that will have large scale impact on the Tourism development in the State.
The Cabinet approved the development of 10 projects including Luxury Resorts, Star Hotels, Mega Spiritual Tourism Projects at various locations. The projects are planned with an expected investment of more than Rs. 2800 crores and will create employment opportunities for about 48000 people.
Andhra Pradesh is blessed with the country’s second longest coastline, perennial rivers, scenic backwaters, hills and forests, is home to one of the world’s most visited religious destinations, is considered as the birthplace of Mahayana Buddhism, and boasts of a vibrant and rich culture and heritage.
Tourism contributes to about 7% to the GSDP of Andhra Pradesh and is one of the most important levers to bring investments and to generate employment while also enabling sectors such as Agriculture, Transport, Handloom, and Consumer Goods to grow due to its strong backward linkages.
CM Jagan, speaking on the occasion said, “The Government of Andhra Pradesh is committed towards the socio-economic development of the State and regards Tourism Sector as one of the key growth engines for the development of economy and generation of employment. It is the vision of the Government to develop luxury resorts and hotels at prominent tourist destinations of the State, to position the State as a premier tourist destination, and to aid in the development of these regions.”
The Cabinet has approved the allotment of land and grand of incentives for these projects as per the provisions of A.P. Tourism Policy 2020 – 25.
1. The Cabinet has approved the development of Luxury Resorts with 7-Star facilities at important tourist destinations in the State. These resorts will radically improve the outlook of these tourist destinations and pave way for further investments in the future. The resorts will be developed by India’s most luxurious and leading Hotels & Resorts group, The Oberoi Group. Each property will be developed with an investment of Rs. 250 Crores and above.
• Development of Oberoi (Vilas) Resort with 300 independent villas at Annavaram village, Bheemli Mandal Visakhapatnam over 40 Acres with an estimated investment of Rs.350.00 Cr.
• Development of Oberoi (Vilas) Resort with 100 independent villas at Peruru, Tirupati over 20 Acres with an estimated investment of Rs. 250 Cr.
• Development of Oberoi (Vilas) Resort with 120 independent villas at Gandikota (V), Jammalamadugu (M), YSR Kadapa over 50 Acres with an estimated investment of Rs.250.00 Cr.
• Development of Oberoi (Vilas) Resort with 120 independent villas at Horsley Hills, B. Kothakota (M), Chittoor over 21 Acres with an estimated investment of Rs.250.00 Cr in single phase.
• Development of Oberoi (Vilas) Resort with 150 independent villas at Pichukalanka, Atreyapuram (M), East Godavari over 30 Acres with an estimated investment of Rs.250.00 Cr.
Each of the resorts will be built the following components to cater to the luxury travelers.
• Luxury Suites & Villas, Open Lawns and Party area
• Fine-Dining Restaurants & 24-hour Coffee shop
• Conference Facility, Banquet Hall
• Bar & Lounge
• Lobby – Guest Reception area
• Swimming Pool, Fitness Centre, State-of-the-art Spa
• Souvenir Shops, Parking
• Other connected facilities
2. Cabinet has approved the Development of Mega Spiritual Center & Tourist Base Camp at Penukonda, Ananthapur by M/s ISKCON Charities.
The Spiritual Center is expected to attract large footfall of more than 10,000 pilgrims each month. The project will be developed with an investment of Rs. 100 Crores over an area of 75 Acres.
The project will have various spiritual, recreation and hospitality components including.
• Yatri Nivas (Guest Rooms) – 288 rooms
• Krishna Lila Theme Park attractions,
• Amphitheatre – 2000 seats
• Convention center – 1000 seats,
• Dharmasala Dormitories – 108 beds dormitory
• Museums, Ayurvedic Wellness center
• Sanskruti Bhavan, Heritage & Crafts center, Astha Narasimha Kshetram
• Iconic Tower with viewing gallery, Main street with merchandise
• Prasadam Food courts & Fine Dine Restaurants
• Shuttle Services to Hill top, Children’s activity & play zone
• Public Amenities, Admin & support offices
• Visitor Car Parking – 600 cars
3. Cabinet has approved the grant of incentives for Star hotels under Hyatt brand and Taj brand at Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati.
a. Development of Five Star Hotel & Convention Centre under Hyatt brand with 200 rooms,1500 seating Convention Centre at Shilparamam Visakhapatnam 3 Acres with an estimated Investment of Rs.200.00 Crores.
The project components include:
• 220 Keys Five Star Hotel – With HYATT PLACE Branding
• 1500 Capacity Convention Centre with International Quality Event Infrastructure
• 10,000 High Street Retail Outlets
• Parking & Other Amenities
b. Development of Convention Centre with Five Star Hotel under Hyatt brand with 225 rooms and 1500 seating Convention Centre at Shilparamam, Tirupati over 2.66 Acres with an estimated Investment of Rs. 204.00 Crores.
The project components include:
• 225 Five Star Hotel Rooms – HYATT PLACE
• Min 1500 capacity @ 15,000 sft main hall and Convention Facility
• 10,000 sft for kitchen & dining
• Retail block, Café, Restaurant, Banquet
• Parking & other amenities
c. Development of a Five Star Hotel with 260 rooms, 90 Service Apartments, 12750 Sq Ft Convention Centre,2500 seating Technology Space under Taj brand at Visakhapatnam with an estimated investment of Rs 722.00 Cr.
The project components include:
• Hotel with 260 keys (340 Bays)
• Service Apartments – 90 No’s
• Convention Center – 12,750 Sq. Feet
• Meeting and Board Rooms
• Five Restaurants
• Exhibition Space – 25,000 Sq. Foot
• Shops, Entertainment and Gaming Zones – 50,000 Sq. Foot
• Technology Office Space – 2500 seats
• Roof top: Helipad, Olympic Length Swimming Pool, Jogging Track – 300m long.
d. Development of a Four-star Hyatt Place Hotel with 81 rooms, 2 banquet halls at Vijayawada with an estimated investment of Rs 92.61 Cr.
The project components include:
• 81 Luxury Rooms and 2 Banquet Halls
• Restaurant, Health & Spa, Swimming Pool
• Parking and Other facilities
“The decisions of the Cabinet reaffirm the vision of the Government of Andhra Pradesh o develop tourism in the State through investments in Luxury Hotels & Resorts. Andhra Pradesh with its natural advantages for tourism, dynamic and visionary leadership, aggressive and attractive tourism policy, is best poised as the leading State in the country for tourist visits and tourism investments. I’m quite sure that today is a breakthrough day for AP Tourism and will pave way for more investments in tourism in the State.” said Dr. Rajat Bhargava, Spl. Chief Secretary, Youth Advancement, Tourism & Culture, Government of Andhra Pradesh.
The SIPB (State Investment Promotion Board) in its meeting yesterday, (Wednesday) also recommended that the following unique projects must be taken up in PPP mode.
a. Development of Tunnel Aquarium Project at Visakhapatnam
b. Development of a unique project on the lines of “London Eye” at Kailasagiri, Visakhapatnam
c. Development of Sky Tower at a location to be identified
