MUMBAI: With the Maharashtra government’s plans to convert the decommissioned aircraft carrier INS Viraat into a maritime museum failing to attract any bidders even after repeated extensions, the ship is likely to meet the same fate as that of the country’s first aircraft carrier, the INS Vikrant and get scrapped.
While Minister of State for Defence, Shripad Naik, had informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply recently that the decision has been made to scrap the ship due to “non-receipt of a self-sustaining financially complete proposal” for its upkeep, the state government officials have made it clear that even after multiple extensions, no bidders have come forth to convert the ship into a maritime museum and hotel.
The Maharashtra government had mooted the proposal to convert the Viraat into a maritime museum, complete with a hotel and adventure sports facility.
While the plan involved docking the vessel off the coast of Sindhudurg district, total cost of the project was around Rs 852 crore. Even after repeated extensions, no bidders came forth to bid.