BENGALURU: The state government’s ambitious plan to establish an oceanarium on the coastline, the first of its kind in the entire South, has failed to take off as no private firms have shown any inclination to participate in the PPP project.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in his 2014-15 budget speech, had announced the decision to establish the oceanarium at Pilikula Nisarga Dhama (PND), a major picnic spot near Mangaluru.
The oceanarium was planned as a commercial theme park where marine mammals such as dolphins, sharks, beluga whales and other marine life are kept within water tanks.
According to sources, the government had asked the Fisheries Department to execute the project, which in turn had named the PND Society as the nodal agency for the dream project.
Fisheries Department sources told Express that the PND administration had sent a project proposal recently, but it also stated that no private firm had shown any inclination to participate in it.
Speaking to Express, Veerappa Gowda, director, Fisheries Department, said with no private companies coming forward, the PND administration itself has offered to take responsibility to execute the project.
The proposed oceanarium would be located in the PND complex, which has over 370 acres of land.
He said the department has received a `8.5-crore project proposal from the PND and sought additional land and funds from the government. Maintaining that Nisarga Dhama is an ideal place to house the oceanarium, he said a Fisheries Sanctuary is also located near the place.