NEW DELHI: An expo-cum-convention centre with a 3-star plus hotel is to be set up at Farmagudi in Ponda on 1.25 lakh sq mt land belonging to the State’s tourism department.
Union Tourism Minister Dr Mahesh Sharma disclosed this in a written reply to Congress MP Shantaram Naik in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
He said it is a Goa government project to be implemented through private investment, the tendering process for which is underway. Architectural plans for the project, however, have not yet been drawn up.
The source of funding for the project is through the private investment, the minister said but said in affirmative on Naik wondering if it would be under the public private partnership (PPP) model.
In reply to another question by Naik, Minister of State for Defence, Rao Inderjit Singh said the Goa Shipyard has procured four orders of the Indian Navy; an order of Goa police for three rigit inflatable boats and one order of Gujarat Maritime Board for one petrol boat in the last six months.
The Navy orders include construction of four 1000 tonne fuel barges, setting up of damage control simulator at Shipwright School at Vishakhapatnam, ship repair orders for IN Sumdha and Sindhu Sankalp and an annual maintenance contract of the damage control simulator at INS Shivaji at Lonavala.
The minister said Goa Shipyard has been also nominated to build 12 mine counter measure vessels, the contract for which is yet to be signed. He said these contracts will be executed using the in-house manpower as also by resorting to outsourcing.
Asked about the employment prospects in all these contracts, the minister said the Goa Shipyard follows the Government of India’s recruitment policy that involves compulsory notification of vacancies, reservations, etc.
As regards other orders under execution by the shipyard, the minister said these include six offshore patrol vessels for the Indian Coast Guard, two such vehicles for Sri Lanka Government, 11 fast interceptor boats and two fast patrol vessels for the Mauritius government, a damage control simulator at Myanmar and fishery research vessel for Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, a central PSU at Kochi.
The Goa Shipyard also has annual maintenance contracts for 116 interceptor boats of home ministry, 29 patrol boats of Maharashtra government, sea training facility of ONGC and the shore-based test facility of Aeronautical Development Authority.
