Shillong, Dec 4: The Ministry of Tourism has announced two major projects aimed at transforming Meghalaya into a tourist destination.
The projects are the development of Umiam Lake as an iconic eco-tourism hub and the creation of MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) infrastructure at Mawkhanu, Shillong.
The ministry has undertaken these two projects to develop a crafts village, haat, food court and allied infrastructure at Umiam and create an alternate travel destination and address the decongestion in Shillong.
With an estimated cost of Rs 99.27 crore, the project titled ‘Development of Umiam Lake as an Iconic Tourist Centre’ envisions creating diverse spaces for recreation, education and entertainment, particularly catering to families, nature enthusiasts, and adventure seekers.
The MICE infrastructure at Mawkhanu with an estimated cost of Rs 99.27 crore will focus on creating new public spaces, including trails, pathways and broadways, internal connectivity, interactive cultural display, a sculpture park, a public plaza, nature play, multipurpose ground, festival ground, amphitheatre, signages etc., to provide an alternative tourism destination and alleviate congestion in the capital city of Shillong.
The project is expected to create more than 1,300 jobs and encourage Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in six projects valued at Rs 425.25 crore. Planned initiatives also include a luxury prefab resort, convention centre, amusement park, golf-themed resort, golf club, and golf course.
The Umiam and Mawkhanu projects are part of the 40 projects approved by the Centre for the development of tourist sites in 23 states with a total cost of Rs 3,295 crore under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment-Development of Iconic Tourist Centres to Global Scale.
