Rs9,500 crore theme park to come up near Surat

Gujarat has roped in the Mumbai-based infrastructure and real estate firm Atlanta to jointly develop a Rs9,500-crore theme park in Surat.

Atlanta, through its special-purpose vehicle, Atlanta Tourism Ventures, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up an eco-friendly entertainment city at Suvali in Surat.

“Under the public-private partnership project, Gujarat has granted an in-principle nod for the project last week. The 3,500-acre salty land near the Arabian Sea coast is owned by the state and is offered to us for setting up the theme park,” Atlanta executive director Rikiin Bbarot said.

The first phase of the project is set to begin April next and will be financed by a mix of equity and debt, he said. The project will be completed in four phases and will be developed over an area of 13 sq km. It will have nature park, amusement park, water park, beach park, ice-skating, skiing dome, beach villas, forest villas among others. Atlanta, which is active in sectors like roads, is in talks with the world’s biggest theme park operators to partner the project.

“The project will be in line with the world-renowned theme parks of Sentossa of Singapore, Disney and Malaysia’s Genting. We will finalise a partner, once we get the necessary approvals,” Bbarot said, adding the project will be spread across 3,500 acres and will have five theme parks.