Pattiseema to be developed into a tourism destination

Amaravati: The State government is planning to develop Pattiseema into a tourist hub. The project is divided into 5 zones which will have special attractions such as arts and crafts, play area, go-carting, food zone and golf course. The project will also provide resort like accommodation to the visitors for a peaceful and scenic stay, officials informed Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday.

The works related to the Shilparamams of Guntur, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati will begin as a part of first phase, within short span of time. The prime purpose of constructing them is to bring improvements to the brand Shilparamam so that revenue generation and operations are handled independently by Shilparamam.

The officials presented the master plan for the development of the three Shilparamams, during a review meeting of the State Tourism Planning Board held by the Chief Minister at the Secretariat. The Visakhapatnam Shilparamam works have been divided into 3 phases and the project would be completed in the next 24 months, informed Mukesh Kumar Meena, Secretary (Tourism).

The Chief Minister was told that the Visakhapatnam unit will be having enhanced security with 160 rooms for accommodation, banquet hall, multipurpose function hall with a capacity of 1200 and a crafts bazaar which will have artworks by local artisans displayed across 30 stalls. This Shilparamam will also have a themed water park and an ice land to provide a sub-zero degree experience to the visitors. This unit will be built at an estimated cost of Rs 30 crore and will be spread up over an area of 12.5 acres.

The Tirupati unit of Shilparamam will be spread across 6 zones which would have light show, amusement parks, craft exhibition, festival grounds, deluxe guest house and restaurants spread across them. The six zones would be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 120.8 crore and the first phase of works will be completed by February 2019. 

Briefing the Chief Minister on the works related to the Guntur Shilparamam, the officials said that the Guntur unit is divided into 3 zones with zone one being a flat land, zone two being a lake and zone three an extension of the lake. 

The project has been designed by taking Undavalli Caves and Buddha Sthupa as inspiration. The Guntur Shilparamam will also have all the state of the art facilities and will be spread across 12.25 acres and is being built at an estimated cost of Rs 80 crore. Chandrababu Naidu said, “We are having excellent resources in the State and to provide them with more visibility, you must consult the experts to understand the potential and specialty of each of the areas marked. We are focusing more on service sector and are trying to build 1 lakh rooms across the State and for that purpose the tourism has to develop.”

The Tourism Board officials informed the Chief Minister that 16.54 crore people visited AP last year which was an increase by 1.2 crore compared to the previous year. The State tourism registered a growth rate of 15% which was third in the country and was 4% above the national average. Last year 16 events were organised by the tourism board which were attended by 16 lakh people and it had a reach of 20 crore through print and social media.