Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority has many projects in store

Visakhapatnam: Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA) Commissioner P Koteswara Rao said that works related to a plenty of major projects will gain pace in the coming year.

Sharing the annual report with the media, he said along with protecting assets, the VMRDA will also focus on expanding avenues to increase its revenue.

"The existing master plan 2006 is going to expire by June, 2021. Preparation of master plan 2021-41 has been entrusted to LEA Associates South Asia Pvt Ltd," the VMRDA Commissioner said. Explaining the progress made this year, he said the DPRs are getting readied for several projects to be taken up in future.

"Kailasagiri, a popular tourist destination in Visakhapatnam, is expected to be fully developed in the coming days. Visitors who step into the premises in the morning will be provided with all the facilities so that they can continue to stay there till night without any inconvenience," he explained. The National History Park and planetarium projects would place Visakhapatnam on the global map, he said.

Expressing satisfaction over works related to NAD flyover at a cost of Rs 150 crore, 60-ft Visakha Valley School road, 80-ft master plan road from Law College to beach road and tree plantation drives, the Commissioner said many more projects are in store in 2021. Integrated Museum and Tourism Complex and Museum-Research Institute, mutli-level car parking and commercial complex at Siripuram, V-Commercial complex at Ram Nagar were some of the projects, the Commissioner said, would take shape in the coming year.

He said the case filed against paying Rs 200 crore to the Income Tax Department has turned out favourable to VMRDA. Similarly, another Rs 220 crore which was paid to the IT Department will be credited back to the VMRDA, he added.