Andhra CM launched Heli tourism project

Visakhapatnam, Dec 29: The Heli tourism project which was launched by the Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu during his visit to the city mid-December, was made available to the public on Friday, as part of the Visakha Utsav.

HRD minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao who flagged off the event at Rushikonda said that Visakhapatnam would become a tourism destination in the coming days.

The heli tourism project would be run jointly by VUDA, Tourism department and GVMC as a pilot project for three months.

The ten-minute sortie covering VUDA Park, Thotlakonda and Kailasagiri, costs Rs.2,499 but the price could be brought down a bit depending on the public response, he said.

Besides tourism, the chopper could be used in any medical emergency, and disaster management needs. Corporate houses could reach MoU for the purpose, he suggested.

The minister also said Rs.16.82 crore would be spent on the tourism sector, Rs.10 crore on development of Thotlakonda and Bavikonda, Rs.35 lakh for Tadiguda waterfalls, Rs.5 crore for Lammasingi resorts,Rs.3 crore each for development of tourism building and Dallapalli resorts.