Taj amusement park at Aguada, courtesy Goa Govt.

| 23 June 1997 23:16 IST

As a part of privatisation process of major tourism-related projects, Goa government has leased out the Aguada plateau, adjacent to the historical Aguada fort, to the Taj Group of Hotels, to develop an amusement park.

The Indian Resorts Hotels Company Limited has signed a lease agreement with the state government for a period of 50 years, on a condition to pay the government upto Rs one crore annually, at the rate of five per cent on annual turnover.

The Taj Group would built the park on around 3.14 lakh sq mts of land, investing Rs 100 crore. It would consist of joy rides, theatre, model village, shopping arcade, sports facilities, club house and a health centre. The area is on the hilltop while the Taj Group owns three resorts down the hill, along the Candolim beach.

Going against the local opposition to privatise heritage places in the state, the government has already privatised Terekhol fort, situated on the Goa-Maharashtra border along the coastline, converting it into a hotel. It would follow the Reis Magos fort across Panaji city and Cabo de Rama fort on the southern border of the state.

Deputy chief minister Wilfred de Souza expects these projects to fulfil the needs of quality tourists, foreign as well as domestic, as improper infrastructural facilities have been hampering the local tourism trade. "It will add to our revenue, which we can then spend on providing other infrastructural facilities", he says.

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