Union Minister Milind Deora today said the facelift of Kanhoji Angre Lighthouse, located on the Khanderi Island off Mumbai coast, would be completed within a year.
"A jetty and a passenger terminal needs to be built, along with some beautification and civic amenities on the island...I am sure by the end of the next monsoons, the lighthouse will be able to attract new tourists," the Union Minister of State for Shipping said here.
Once the renovation is complete, tourists can visit the lighthouse by ferryboats.
Union Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi said this will be an excellent day-destination for tourists. Shipping Ministry officials added that plans are also afoot to upgrade some rooms in the lighthouse and provide tents for overnight stay.
Khanderi Lighthouse, now named after the warrior king Shivaji's admiral Kanhoji Angre, is one of the oldest among the 180-odd lighthouses in the country.
It has been operating for over 150 years.
Deora said the Union Tourism ministry is providing a Viability Gap Funding (VGF) of Rs 14.71 crore for the project, which will ultimately cost Rs 48 crore.
"This will be done as a public private partnership project. The private bidder will have to invest the remaining Rs 35 crore," Deora said.
A senior Shipping Ministry official said successful bidder will be declared by the end of the year and the project will be awarded on a 30-year concession.
Deora said the internal rate of return from the project for the bidding party has moved up to 20 per cent due to the tourism ministry's decision to grant VGF, from the earlier 13-14 per cent.
Lighthouses at Vishakapatnam and Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu too are undergoing facelift, as a part of the Shipping Ministry's lighthouse tourism policy, Deora said.
The policy aims at turning lighthouses into tourism attractions, on the lines of western countries.
