The Guntur district administration has decided to allocate 500 acres of land for the mega tourism project proposed by the AP Tourism Development Corporation proposed a Rs 650-crore Mega Tourism project at Nagulavaram in Macherla mandal on the lines of the Brindavan Gardens of Mysore.
The APTDC sought 640 acres but the district administration has decided to allot 500 acres. Collector S Suresh Kumar sent the land allocation papers to APTDC on Tuesday.
The APTDC expects that the proposed project, in addition to the existing Nagarjunakonda, Nagarjunasagar Dam and Buddhavanam, will boost tourism in the region.
The APTDC proposes to develop the Ettipotala Waterfalls, lay a ropeway at Ettipotala between two hills, build a five-star hotel, resorts, motels, develop water falls, water fountains, etc as part of the Mega Tourism Project, TGV Krishna Reddy, MLC, told Express.
The number of foreign tourists visiting the district has been growing in the last few years. About 6,400 tourists visited the district in 2008, 8,250 in 2009, more than 12,000 in 2010, 13,450 in 2011 and 15,540 in 2012. The number of domestic tourists was 9.9 lakh in 2008, 15.23 lakh in 2009, 17.6 lakh in 2010, 19.33 lakh in 2011 and 20.45 lakh in 2012, according to tourism officials.