Orissa to conduct financial feasibility study for Shamuka tourism project

To invest Rs 120 crore on infrastructure development in Phase-II

As a part of its commitment to put the Rs 3,500-crore Shamuka beach tourism project on the fast track, the Orissa government has decided to set in motion a financial feasibility study.

A globally reputed consultant will be roped in for conducting the study. The state government had recently invited tenders for the selection of the consultant and internationally famed consultants like Deloitte, Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) have responded to the tenders.

"We had invited bids for the selection of a consultant for conducting the financial feasibility study for the Shamuka beach tourism project. Deloitte, Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) have responded to our tenders and PwC has emerged as the L1 bidder”, Santosh Sarangi, secretary (tourism), Orissa government told Business Standard.

The state tourism department also needs a transaction advisor for implementing the Shamuka beach tourism project and the state Chief Minister has accepted our request, he added.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday, reviewed the progress of different tourism projects being executed by the state tourism department.

Chief Secretary T K Mishra, tourism minister Debi Prasad Mishra, secretary (tourism) Santosh Sarangi and finance secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra were present at the review meeting.

The state government has already acquired 972 acres of land for the Shamuka tourism project in the first phase and it was decided at the review meeting that a boundary wall will be erected around this patch of acquired land.

Asked if there was any legal hurdle for the mega tourism project, Sarangi said, “A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Orissa High Court against land acquisition for the project but as such there is no stay order of the court. We can proceed on the project and in the first phase, the state government will invest Rs 120 crore on external infrastructure like roads, electricity and water supply.”

The state government had also decided to go for a fresh bidding process after the bids which it had invited last year for setting up four five star hotels on around 100 acres of land.

The state government had decided to revise some provisions and modalities to make the project attractive and commercially viable.

Though quite a lot of bidders had evinced interest when the bids were opened for the Shamuka tourism project, none of them turned up during the final bidding process.

The developers even did not turn up when they were invited by the state toruism department in January this year.

The Shamuka tourism project needs around 3000 acres of land in all and the land acquisition is being done in phases.

The project is being developed near Sipasarubali, about 10 km south of Puri on the public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

In the second phase, the state government intends to acquire 626 acres of land for the project in the second phase.

The process of acquisition of 626 acres of land for the project is expected to be be completed by the end of 2010.

About 90 per cent of the amount for acquisition of 626 acres of land has been deposited with the district collector of Puri.

Following the acquisition of 626 acres of land, the Orissa Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) will invite fresh bids for this mega tourism project.

Apart from the four five star hotels, the Shamuka tourism project would have facilities like a convention centre of international standards with a seating capacity of nearly 1,500, an 18-hole golf course, boutique hotels, international spa and wellness centres, an entertainment zone and sports facilities.

Besides reviewing the Shamuka tourism project, the review meeting also took note of security measures for the tourists and the need for providing better amenities to the inbound tourists.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, “It was discussed at the meeting that we need to provide better amenities to the tourists. The police also need to be more vigilant on the attacks on tourists.”

"The state's inbound tourist arrival grew by about 10 per cent in 2009 despite the global economic recession. Our foreign tourist arrivals has also gone up from around 30,000 in 2000 to 43,000 in 2009”, said the state tourism minister Debi Prasad Mishra.