HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh government's grand plans to convert the Naval warship
INS Viraat
into a major tourist attraction may not materialise in the near future as the Central government has turned down the state's request to partly fund the project.
In a written reply to a question by YSRCP MP V
Vijayasai Reddy in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, the Union minister of state for defence Subhash Bhamre categorically stated that the
AP government's proposal for 50 per cent equity participation in turning the recently-decommissioned aircraft carrier INS VIRAAT into a museum and entertainment-cum-convention centre.
INS Viraat was decommissioned on March 6. The proposal to convert the Naval aircraft carrier into a star hotel has been pending for almost two years. Subhash Bhamre said a proposal for conversion of INS Viraat as an aircraft carrier museum including tourist and hospitality components on commercial basis was forwarded by the state government on October, 26, 2016. The state has requested 50 per cent equity participation by the
Ministry of Defence
in the proposed
special purpose vehicle
(SPV) for conversion of the Naval warship into a tourist project. "The proposal for equity participation was not accepted by the Ministry of Defence and the same was communicated to Government of Andhra Pradesh on December 14, 2016," the minister clarified.
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