Works on the proposed floating restaurant MV Maa are likely to resume soon in Visakhapatnam

Floating restaurant project work on abandoned ship M.V Maa at Tenneti Park likely to resume soon.

Works on the proposed floating restaurant project on abandoned ship M.V Maa at Tenneti Park are expected to resume in the coming days, as the Tourism Department is expecting permissions from key departments to initiate the project works here.

The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department has sent its required proposals for the restaurant project on the ship to the AP Coastal Zone Management Authority (APCZMA). A meeting of APCZMA is likely to be conducted in the coming week, where the proposal may be coming for discussion, a senior official from the Tourism Department said. According to him, the Forest Department has also sent a report to the Principle Chief Conservator of Forests (APPCCF) office on the project, which is yet to be submitted to the State government for final approval.

“Once the government approves, an order would be released and a demand notice would be sent to us. The Tourism Department should pay the required amount to the government after which works can be initiated,” the officer said.

The ship which ran aground during a cyclone in the year 2020 and was abandoned during the year 2021, as the owners of the ship were unable to tow it back. A city-based private company had purchased the ship from the insurers. It was during December 2021, the then Tourism Minister Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao had announced that the ship would be converted into a floating restaurant. However due to COVID-19, delay in permissions from some departments concerned, the project is kept on abeyance.

Regional Director of Tourism Department Srinivasa Pani said that an approach road needs to be constructed from the temple at Tenneti Park to the ship for tourists. This apart, a supporting structure also needs to be arranged for the ship. Other basic amenities like washrooms and change rooms need to be created on the beach. All the constructions will be environment-friendly, since it is a coastal area.

Mr. Srinivasa Pani also said that there are plans to use battery operated vehicles from the beach area to the ship to shift elderly persons, senior citizens and children. He said, “the open deck on the ship may be given for celebration of birthday parties or functions, while the interior area can be used as a restaurant.”