Tourism sector alone to get Rs.20K cr investment at Global Investment Summit

Visakhapatnam: The two-day upcoming Global Investment Summit beginning in Visakhapatnam on March 3 will witness the signing of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) worth ₹20,000 crore and more in tourism sector alone.

Top brands in hotels, resorts, temple tourism, adventure sports, water sports, cruises and ropeways are expected to come up in different parts of the state to make Andhra Pradesh a major tourism destination in south India.

In the hospitality sector, Oberoi group will construct hotels at Annavaram near Bheemili, about 20 km from Vizag, Horsley Hills, Pichika Lanka, Tirupati and Gandikota.

“Several US brands too are looking at Andhra Pradesh for big investments in hotels and resorts. But they will follow after Oberois ground their projects,’’ said a top official of the AP Tourism Development Corporation.

Focus is also on River Godavari in East Godavari and Konaseema districts. There will be development on and around Havelock Bridge that had been built in 1897. It had been abandoned after construction of the new arch bridge.

The area under Havelock Bridge and above will be developed as an adventure and water sports destination, with a ropeway along the Havelock bridge. There will be development around Papi Kondalu and Kovvur. The detailed project report (DPR) for Havelock Bridge is ready and an investment of ₹800 crore is expected around the heritage bridge.

Similarly, an agreement has been signed with a company that will facilitate temple tourism. The agency will have an online platform for rendering services to pilgrims visiting all the temples in the state. Apart from providing transport, hotels and darshan, the agency will provide escort services to senior citizens who are alone and may desire to tour temples.

“Initially, services will be limited to AP temples. Later, they will link with Shirdi, Varanasi and Sabarimala to start with,” an official said. He disclosed that the agency implementing temple tourism will be investing ₹1,000 crore in the project.

Buddhist heritage sites will be developed on a non-commercial basis, he stated.

Further, an international company is looking for 1,000 acres of land for setting up a golf course with resort, and turn it into an international destination, the official added.