This will be the first project in India where a decommissioned warship will be converted into a hospitality facility
The aircraft carrier INS Viraat may have been the epicentre of political controversy during the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections, but the decommissioned ship seems to have few takers in its proposed avatar as an integrated tourism and hospitality destination.
Last year, the Maharashtra cabinet approved a proposal to convert the former Indian Navy flagship — the world's longest-serving warship — into a museum on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis. It will be permanently grouted around 7 nautical miles in the sea at Nivati rocks in Sindhudurg, where visitors will also be able to view the unique marine eco-system.
This will be the first project in India where a decommissioned warship will be converted into a hospitality facility.
PROPOSED INFRASTRUCTURE
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- Five-star hotel with exhibition space, conference rooms, restaurant, ballroom, sauna/ spa, beauty parlour, library, billiards and snooker rooms, swimming pool, Helipads
- Maritime museum with artefact display, simulators, adventure and leisure sports, aquarium, simulators, maritime library and research centre, adventure and leisure sports, commercial spaces
- Marine sports like adventure and leisure water sports, sea swimming pool, a harbour cruise
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The Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) had floated expressions of interest (EOI) in March for converting the ship, which was decommissioned in 2017, and is docked in Mumbai's Naval dockyard, into an integrated tourism facility and for operating it on a PPP basis. However, it has not received any bids so far, admitted officials.
The ship will be developed into a tourism destination with a five-star hotel, open-air exhibition centre, conference halls, marine sports activities and recreation facilities. It was also proposed to have helipads for people flying in from Mumbai, Goa or the Sindhudurg airport, and a maritime museum and library, aquarium and ship and aircraft handling simulators.
Radhakrishnan B, chief executive officer (CEO), MMB, said they had not received any response so far. "However, we decided to give the tender an extension. Some people sought more time to study it as this is the first of its kind project (in India)," he added.
Officials said the new deadline was June 15. The cost of the project was expected to be around Rs 852 crore, including an infusion of Rs 250 crore by the state as viability gap funding (VGF) and an advance to be paid as debt to make the project feasible. The Navy will have to be paid a reserve price for the procurement.
A high-power committee under the chief secretary will decide in terms of the PPP contract and selection of the private partner.
Originally commissioned into the British Royal Navy as HMS Hermes in 1959, the ship saw action in the 1982 Falklands War. The Centaur-class aircraft carrier spent 27 years in the Royal Navy and was commissioned into the Indian Navy on May 12, 1987.
During the Lok Sabha campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had charged that former premier Rajiv Gandhi had used the aircraft carrier to go on a vacation with his family when he was the prime minister.
The Indian Navy's first aircraft carrier, the INS Vikrant was decommissioned in 1997 and its conversion to a full-time museum ship fell through due to reasons like funding. The Majestic-class aircraft carrier, which was used by both, the Royal and Indian Navies, was finally scrapped in 2014, leading to condemnation from former Navy personnel and enthusiasts.
Globally, around seven aircraft carriers have been converted to museum ships and exhibits or theme parks and luxury hotels including USS Hornet, USS Intrepid, USS Lexington, USS Midway, USS Yorktown (United States) and Minsk and Kiev (China).
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