Various companies are planning to invest Rs 2,868 crore in tourism projects in Andhra Pradesh with at least Rs 250 crore investments on each project, the state government said on Wednesday.

This investments will provide employment to 48,000 people and create 1,564 new tourism rooms. The companies plan to complete all these projects in five years.

Oberoi Company will set up resorts in Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Gandikota, Horsley Hills, and Pitchukalanka in the name of Oberoi Vilas and the Hayat Group will build a Star Hotel and Convention Centre at Shilparamam in Visakhapatnam.

Another hotel and service apartment with the name Taj Varun Beach will come up in Visakhapatnam. Tunnel Aquarium and Sky Tower will be constructed in Visakhapatnam and Hyatt Palace Hotel in Vijayawada.

A Spiritual Tourism Centre will be set up under the auspices of ISKCON Charities at Gnanagiri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple at Penugonda in Anantapur district.

This was announced after Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy chaired the State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) meeting and directed the officials to ensure Andhra Pradesh becomes a destination for the tourism sector.

He directed the authorities that tourism projects should attract international tourists, and state of the art facilities should be made available to them. He instructed the officials to complete the projects on time and said that availability of modern facilities will help to improve tourism and added that the number of tourists from other countries will also increase and the people who are dependent directly or indirectly on the tourism sector will get better opportunities.

The Chief Minister instructed the officials to focus on bringing a London Eye-like project to Visakhapatnam.