The Kochi biennale is undoubtedly an excellent tourism product which can enhance the potential of a city such as Kochi, says P.B. Nooh, Kerala Tourism Director.
“The Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) put forward an estimate of ₹23 crore for the conduct of the event. But the government has its limitations when allocating funds,” he says.
And as for the acquisition of Aspinwall House, owned by New-Delhi based DLF group, as a permanent venue for the biennale, owned by New-Delhi based DLF group, the government proposed to buy the property for ₹65 crore. However, the deal did not go through as DLF estimated the value of the property at ₹85 crore. “We can always explore alternative venues,” he says.
This time around, the government made a Budget allocation of ₹7 crore. Of this, ₹6 crore was sanctioned of which ₹4.2 crore has been disbursed already. The remainder, officials say, will be given soon.
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The KBF is learnt to have spent about ₹17.16 crore for the edition and the total expenditure is estimated to be around ₹19.5 crore, also counting the funds needed to uninstall and return the art works.
The priority right now, says Bose Krishnamachari, is to repay debts and restructure the biennale organisation.
