Hyderabad: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has set the process in motion to set up at least three Imax theatres — on the Vijayawada-Guntur stretch i.e. the capital region, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati.
The AP government has also received proposals for construction of multiplexes from private firms in all 13 districts, i.e. district headquarters and major towns of Andhra Pradesh.
Chennai-based Sathyam Cinemas (SPI Cinemas) has come forward to take up the projects. The tourism and investment and infrastructure departments, meanwhile, are inviting other private firms to take up tourism and other infrastructure projects in AP.
Sources said Mr Naidu asked officials to ensure that the Imax projects in the capital, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati include mega convention centres with seating capacities of at least 10,000 people, 3-star hotels, shopping malls, food courts and exhibition halls.
“For this purpose, district collectors were asked to identify huge tracts of land for setting up mega MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) centres with Imax. For smaller MICE centres with multiplexes, shopping malls and convention centres for 2,000 people, 10 acre land is required,” sources said.
When contacted, Tourism Department Principal Secretary Mr Neerabh Kumar Prasad confirmed that the Infrastructure department was taking care of the mega MICE centres including Imax halls, while the Tourism department was seeking private investors to set up smaller MICE centres with multiplexes, shopping malls and 2000-capacity convention centres. He added that the new tourism policy would make Andhra Pradesh a hub of MICE centres.
