The Hindu Business Line : Kailasagiri ropeway to be inaugurated today

BIRD'S EYE VIEW: A ride in a cable car of the Kailasagiri ropeway in Visakhapatnam provides a panoramic view of the Bay of Bengal and the city. The ropeway will be commissioned on Tuesday. - K.R. Deepak

VISAKHAPATNAM: The ropeway at Kailasagiri here — the first in the State and a major tourist attraction — is to be inaugurated on Tuesday, according to the Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (VUDA) officials.

The Rs 2.5-crore project, entrusted to the Kolkata-based Conveyor and Ropeway Services Pvt Ltd on a BOOT basis, was completed in the last week of April and trial runs were conducted for more than a week.

Officials said the inauguration had been slightly delayed due to the elections, as the model code was in operation.

Mr D. Srinivasulu, Vice-Chairman of the VUDA, said Kailsagiri had become a very important tourist destination in recent times and the ropeway, affording a panoramic view of the Bay of Bengal and the city, would draw more tourists.

For the project, the VUDA provided the land and the company had mobilised the resources and executed it. The agreement will be valid for 21 years.

Mr S. Chakravarthy, Managing Director of the Company, said the cable cars would cover the distance of 380 metres from the foothill to the top in three minutes.

Barring the wire rope, which was imported from Switzerland, the rest of the components are indigenous, he said.

"The tariff is quite reasonable. Adults will have to pay Rs 35 for two-way trip and only Rs 20 for a one-way trip and children Rs 18 and Rs 10 respectively," he said.

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