PANJIM: The State government’s landmark Rs 157 crore Ropeway Project from Panjim to Reis Magos, has been caught up in bureaucratic hurdles, with Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) expressing complete unhappiness over the delay.
The 1.24 km long ropeway project, contract awarded to Jammu and Kashmir-based Menus Adventures Pvt Ltd, to be built on a public private partnership (PPP) model, will generate revenue in form of five percent of the total annual turnover.
GTDC chairman Nilesh Cabral told Herald that the project file is pending before the government’s PPP Cell, since July 26 for clearance. “There is complete lethargy on part of the bureaucracy in clearing the project file,” he said, slamming the government process wherein unwarranted delays hold up crucial revenue generation projects.
“This is a project coming up on PPP model, where government has nothing to invest but generate revenue. I understand delay in
the government-funded projects, but not in PPP,” Cabral, a BJP MLA said.
The GTDC chairman said the project, initiated around four years back, is the pet project of former chief minister Manohar Parrikar and is been facing unwanted delays. “The bidder has been asked to deposit Rs 2 crore as security and will have to pay 5 percent of his annual turnover to the State in monthly installments,” Cabral explained.
The project is expected to turn out to be a landmark tourism projects for the State, due to its unique state-of-the-art facilities attracting high-end tourists to the State, he stated.
The ropeway would be monocable detachable gondola system with installed capacity of 800 persons per hour.
The technology partner for the unique ropeway project is Doppelmayr Gravanta, an Austria-Swiss group, which is a ‘world leader in installing ropeway projects and are known for their reliability, safety and high technical standards’.
