Cash strapped AP finds it tough to house INS Viraat

Few days ago we have seen the Central government announcing to hand over the aircraft carrier, INS Viraat to Andhra Pradesh and it will be stationed at Visakhapatnam. The state government planned to convert in to a museum cum hotel. They have planned to include tourism activities will include sea sports, yachting, sailing, gliding and cruising.

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A fivestar luxury hotel with about 1,500 rooms is also part of the plan. Heli-tourism will also be encouraged. But the total bill for this will come up to 700 Crore and the cash strapped state is not at all in a position to afford it. The AP government is planning to seek financial assistance from the Navy and the latter can be a joint partner with the state government.

The state government is yet to put the proposal officially and if Navy rejects it, the government is also toying the idea of executing it in PPP Model. Interestingly, Goa and Gujarat were in the race to take the warship, but the Centre has favoured AP. If the project is successful, India will be the third country after America and China to convert huge aircraft carriers into museums.