'Amaravati Marina' to beckon tourists from around the world

VIJAYAWADA: If all goes well for the Capital Region Development Authority’s (CRDA) in realisation of its tourism initiative, water-based leisure and entertainment facilities like power boating, yachting and infrastructure to host water sports competitions will be ready in the capital by mid-2019 as the authority has initiated the process of developing ‘Amaravati Marina’ and invited the Request for Proposal (RFP) from developers.

According to CRDA officials, the project will be developed in 8 acres of land at Venkatapalem abutting the waterfront area of River Krishna. It is estimated to cost around `40 crore and will be taken up in the Public Private Partnership mode.

“Amaravati Marina will be a recreational centre with water-based activities. It will be developed in two phases. While the first phase will be completed in 12 months from the time the contractor is selected, the second will be ready in the subsequent year,” a CRDA official said.

The official explained that the state government expects the tourist footfalls to Amaravati toy increase in the next 5-10 years. “As tourism infrastructure in Vijayawada and Guntur is limited to temples and passive water tourism at Bhavani Island, there is a need for creating infrastructure to meet the demands and tastes of the tourists and the people of the capital region. Over10,000 foreign tourists are expected to visit Amaravati every year by 2025,” the official said.

The Marina will also have facilities like training centre with classrooms for sailing, boat safety training centre, berths of aluminium alloy pontoons and boat accessory shops.

“We will host national and international boating/sailing and water sports festivals once the Marina is ready. The tender process will be completed by May or June and the works will be launched immediately,” another official observed.

State government expects domestic and foreign tourist footfalls to grow by 8% and 5% respectively in the next 10 years
Officials expect Amaravati to account for 6% and 3% rise in footfalls of domestic and foreign tourists respectively