A 30-acre piece of land on the Marina beach is likely to emerge as a centre of adventure water sports for the city.
“We have conceived of a marina and are in discussions with the PWD for land allocation. The discussions are still in the preliminary stage, and a decision is yet to be arrived at,” a senior TTDC (Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation) official said.
The project may be similar to the marina in Kochi, the official said, and would act as a berthing place for small ships and yachts, even those from other places. Regattas could be conducted, and several sorts of water sports such as sailing competitions may also be held, he said. “We could also have some smaller ships making trips to Mamallapuram and Puducherry,” the official said.
The TTDC has already tried various options to promote adventure sports in Chennai and its outskirts. Adventure sports under public private partnership at Island grounds and Mudaliarkuppam attracted a number of visitors a few years ago.
Adventure sports offered on Island Grounds on a public-private-partnership mode including reverse bungee jumping, rock wall climbing, paint ball, dart board, net cricket, grease pole climbing, squad bike and archery have been stopped.
Para-sailing and water skiing offered at Mudaliarkuppam have also been stopped. Visitors had been offered a five minute para-sailing ride at Rs.1,200 per person and water skiing at Rs.600 per person.
With the launch of adventure sports on the Marina Beach, the number of foreign visitors is expected to increase. TTDC is likely to launch other adventure sports such as hot air ballooning, water-kite flying and scuba diving after studying response from visitors.
