Rajya Sabha member from BJP G.V.L. Narasimha Rao has reiterated that the State government has not submitted the proposal for the Vizag Metro Rail project so far though the Centre had asked for the same long ago.
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He was responding to the query raised by Sohan Hattangadi, honorary secretary, Citizen’s Association for Responsible Tourism (CART), at the ‘Intellectuals conference on Union Budget’, organised by the BJP here on Sunday.
Mr. Hattangadi wondered what had happened to the Vizag Metro Rail project, for which the deadline was 2024. Mr. Narasimha Rao said that the Centre had asked for proposals from the State government for the Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada Metro Rail projects. The Centre would provide Viability Gap Funding up to 20% for the project while the remaining funds have to be raised by the State government through loans. The project could be taken up under the PPP mode, he said.
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Mr. Narasimha Rao said: “Vizag definitely needs a world class Metro and the State government should not delay submission of the proposal for the same any longer.”
Later, Mr. Hattangadi submitted a memorandum to the MP seeking his cooperation in selecting Visakhapatnam as one of the 50 tourist destinations in the country proposed to be developed as international destinations, in the recent Budget. Mr. Narsimha Rao had said earlier that these 50 destinations would be developed with 100% Central government funds and the State government should take advantage of it by sending proposals to the Centre.
The CART representative noted in his representation that Visakhapatnam has all the attributes to become an attractive tourist destination with sea, hills, forests, heritage sites and good connectivity apart from the potential to develop as a top-class tourist destination.