“We intend to renovate and refurbish the fort to promote cultural and heritage tourism in the State. The area around the fort will be turned into a world-class wedding venue and it can also be hired out to host music festivals, heritage and cultural activities,” a GTDC official told Herald.
The repairs, he said, will be carried out provided Archaeological Survey of India and other concerned agencies grant the necessary permissions since the 17th century fort is an archaeological site.
“The project will be operated on a PPP model. For now, GTDC has engaged services of Pune-based consultant M/s Fourth Dimension Pvt Ltd to chalk out plans for its beautification as part of tourism infrastructure development in Pernem,” the official disclosed, adding that the GTDC will retain complete ownership of the fort.
The fort was earlier leased out to M/s Moonrise Tourism and the said lease ended recently. “We will take the help of a renowned conservation architect to plan the fort’s adaptive reuse after obtaining necessary permissions and sanctions from the authorities. The work is likely to take a maximum of 16 months,” he added.
The concept, GTDC believes will further attract general public including tourists to the venue by charging them a nominal fee on the lines of the majestic Reis Magos fort that also underwent a similar renovation process before it was thrown open for the public two years ago.
“The entrance fee will be used for maintenance of the fort and beautification of the area,” the official said. Tiracol fort stands at the northernmost tip of Goa’s shoreline, on a hillock overlooking the Arabian Sea, at the mouth of River Tiracol.
