A ₹350-crore investment by Wonderla Holidays Ltd. in setting up an amusement park in Chennai has been held up due to a local tax tangle, said a top company official.
M. Ramachandran, chairman, Wonderla Parks and Resorts, said, “Our next destination is Chennai. We have already bought 64 acres. Its development awaits an exemption of local body tax of 10% from the Tamil Nadu Government.”
Wonderla had asked the Tamil Nadu Government to remove the 10% levy on admission fee to the Park. “Once the local levy is withdrawn, we expect to complete the project within two years,” he said.
Asserting that the matter was being pursued with the government officials, he said: “Although the government agreed to issue a notification in this regard, we are waiting for a formal decision on the same. This has held up investment of ₹350 crore in our Chennai project.”
Till date, the company has invested close to ₹105 crore in the project and construction is expected to commence in the next fiscal.
For the year ended March 31, 2019, the company reported a net profit of ₹55.41 crore against ₹38.50 crore last year.
