YSR Congress Party Rajya Sabha member V. Vijaya Sai Reddy laid the foundation stone for construction of a convention centre near Yendana and a park at ASR Nagar, Madhurawada, here on Tuesday. He was accompanied by Tourism Minister M. Srinivasa Rao, Mayor G. Hari Venkata Kumari and a few other officials.
The convention centre is being built with a budget of ₹4 crore. Out of the total budget, ₹2 crore will be provided by Mr. Vijaya Sai under his Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds.
Speaking during the programme, Mr. Vijaya Sai said that every zone in Visakhapatnam city will be provided with one convention centre. Already places were identified for all the centres. “About 50% of funds for each convention centre will be provided from my MPLADS funds,” he said. He said that these convention centres will be used to conduct government and private programmes, meetings, marriages and other events.
Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Commission (GVMC) Commissioner G. Srijana said that the convention centres will be constructed to accommodate 1,000 people. Parking for about 100 cars will be provided at the centre, she said.
Mini parks
Earlier Mr. Vijaya Sai laid foundation stone to develop an open space at ASR Nagar with a budget of ₹2.5 lakh. At the programme, he said that GVMC has about 800 open spaces and the government would ensure they are protected. “In the first phase, 304 open spaces places will be developed as mini parks where we would plant saplings, construct boundary/compound walls,” he said He also added that there are 216 water bodies, which will be also protected.
Botanical garden
He also said that GVMC is coming up with proposals to develop Mudasarlova Park as a botanical garden.
