Rajasthan to get an international convention centre

Rajasthan is planning to set up a convention centre and a golf course keeping in mind international standards. These projects, aimed at boosting tourism in the state, are likely to come up near here.

"Around 281.25 acres has been identified in Dhamikala, around 27 km from the city centre on the Jaipur-Ajmer expressway," a senior state government official said.

He said the state government had proposed to establish these projects on the public-private partnership mode.

The state government would consider a special package of concessions for the establishment of the convention centre.

Sources said the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) had decided to appoint PDCOR Ltd as consultant of the project. PDCOR would help the JDA in inviting global tenders for the project.

According to the information, convention centre would be established in 100 acres while in 156 acres a golf course would be set up. Rest of the land is expected to be utilised for setting up a five-star hotel and an entertainment centre. The convention centre, once operational, will be able to accommodate 4,000 people at a time.

Rajasthan, with its' rich cultural heritage, is one of the most preferred tourism destinations in the world. Jaipur with its proximity to Delhi and connectivity with almost all big cities of the country has emerged as a big meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) market.

According to trade estimates, the city holds 30-50 big and medium size conferences every year and this figure is growing, thanks to good tourism infrastructure.

With a record arrival of more than 1.2 million foreign tourists and 1.70 million domestic tourists during the year 2005-06, the state has been one of the most popular destinations.

Annual growth rate of domestic tourists has been 7 per cent and of international tourists has been 5 percent. The total spending by all the tourists visiting the state is over Rs1,000 crore per annum.