State mulls over investment subsidy to boost tourism infra

With a view to encourage flow of investments into development of tourism infrastructure, the state tourism department is mulling to offer investment subsidy on different tourism projects.

The investment subsidy scheme, which has been incorporated in the draft tourism policy of the state, would hinge on the scale of investments and also on the regions where the tourism projects come up.

The micro tourism units with an investment up to Rs 25 lakh can avail an investment subsidy of 25 per cent in special tourism zones (STZs) and 20 per cent in other regions. For the mini tourism units with investments in the range of Rs 25-50 lakh, the investment subsidy would be 20 per cent of the investment amount or Rs 7.5 lakh for the projects coming up in the STZs.

For setting up projects in other regions, the mini-tourism units are entitled to an investment subsidy of 15 per cent of the invested amount or Rs five lakh.

Similarly, the small tourism units pumping in Rs 50 lakh-Rs one crore can enjoy an investment subsidy up to 10 per cent of the invested amount or Rs 7.5 lakh. In case of projects being developed in STZs, they can avail an investment subsidy of 15 per cent or Rs 10 lakh.

The medium as well as large tourism units are also eligible for interest subsidy on term loans. The medium tourism units who invest in the range of Rs 1-10 crore are eligible for an interest subsidy of five per cent on term loans while the large tourism units with investments from Rs 10-50 crore can get an interest subsidy on term loans. In case of mega tourism projects with capital investment exceeding Rs 50 crore, the state government may consider a special package, excluding the tax based incentives, on a case to case basis. The concerned promoters of these units can avail this subsidy provided they have not defaulted to the Orissa State Financial Corporation (OSFC), Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Orissa (Ipicol) and other government agencies.

The interest subsidy would be paid only for the first five years from the commencement of commercial operations of the project.