CHARMING THE VISITORS: At the Veli Tourist Village. The amusement park is proposed to be set up close the tourist village. - Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar

Thiruvananthapuram: The Rs.20-crore Veli amusement park, conceived by Kerala Tourism to be built with private participation on a Built-Operate-Transfer basis on 19 acres adjacent to the Veli tourist village, is likely to be shelved.

The inability of the Abu Dhabi-based Southern Fun City (SFC) to commence the project figured in the recent review meeting of tourism projects chaired by Minister for Tourism Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.

The SFC demanded more land to construct a hotel as part of the project. "The Finance Department is against further land acquisition as it would involve financial commitment. The amusement park project is likely to be shelved," a top official of Kerala Tourism told The Hindu .

The amusement park was proposed to come up on three plots, including the one on the right side of Veli-Shanghumughom road.

The project was dogged by controversies from the beginning itself with the locals residing near the tourist village opposing the project tooth and nail.

The authorities were able to win over the locals. Sixteen families, who were evicted from the project site, were provided five cents of land in addition to monetary compensation.

The foundation stone for the park was laid by the then Tourism Minister E. Chandrasekharan Nair on March 14, 2001.

But, the Government was not able to hand over the land as per the agreement due to acquisition problems and shifting of the 66-KV line passing through the land. Tourism sources said the SFC even remitted Rs.35 lakhs as bank guarantee in the treasury in 2001.

In 2004, the power line of the KSEB was replaced with underground cables and a dedicated line at a cost of Rs. 80 lakh to provide uninterrupted power supply. The Law Department even cleared the lease agreement to be signed between Kerala Tourism and SFC.

"The agreement could not be signed as the group raised one demand after another," sources said.

As per the proposed lease agreement, the group was to pay an annual lease rent of Rs.26.46 lakh for the lease period of 30 years and then hand it over to the department.

The park was scheduled for completion in 18 months. A two-lane model road with pathways was constructed from All Saints College Junction-VSSC Road to the village at a cost of Rs.42 lakhs. A dry park and water theme park were the highlights of the proposed park.

The master plan was prepared with the assistance of a U.K.-based consultant, Portico Leisure Limited. Andrew Caldwell, who has designed several amusement parks, was to oversee the construction of the park.

"The acquired land should be used for tourism activities. Project should be taken up considering the access to Technopark, international airport and Kochuveli terminal," general convener of the Veli Tourist Village Samyuktha Samithi M. Babu said.

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