Bhubaneswar, Nov. 1: The gingerbread-trimmed houseboats that tourists crave for on the Dal Lake in Kashmir or the backwaters of Kerala will shortly be available in Odisha. The state tourism department is planning to promote water body sites in a big way to woo tourists.

The beaches at Puri, Ramchandi and Chandrabhaga as well as 13 reservoirs across the state have been identified for development of infrastructure and water sport activities to attract tourists. Be it the thrilling experience of water-biking, surfing or enjoying the beach under the shade of a cafeteria, restaurant or even a beach-side tent, tourists will be spoilt for choice in making their trip to Odisha an adventurous one.

Cruise boats will ply from Ramchandi to Puri and Chandrabhaga near Konark. Apart from this, tourists can enjoy water scooters and speedboats along the beaches.

“We have planned to introduce water sports facilities at beaches and reservoirs to maximise the tourism potential of these sites that have never been promoted till date as major tourist destinations,” state tourism minister Maheswar Mohanty told The Telegraph today.

There will also be a provision of houseboats in the Chilika lake just like the Dal Lake to lure high-end tourists from across the globe, he said.

Tourism secretary Ashok Tripathy said the state government had invited expression of interest from private developers with expertise in tourism infrastructure to develop water sports facilities in the identified water bodies.

“Several parties had responded and six of them have been shortlisted,” said Tripathy. “The introduction of water sports or other infrastructure in our water bodies will generate employment for security personnel, life guards, hospitality professionals in the state while earning the tourism department good revenue,” he said.

In the next phase, the tourism department will invite financial bids from the shortlisted applicants by issuing request for proposal. “Financial bids will be invited within a week,” said the tourism secretary, adding that construction for the projects would begin immediately after the finalisation of financial bids.

The state government will grant development and operation rights at these sites to private developers for a certain agreement period (usually for 10 years, which may be extended further). The developers will pay annual royalty, which will increase by 10 per cent per annum.

At each location, the state government will allot 0.5 acre to one acre adjacent to the identified sites and facilitate the developers in obtaining necessary clearances and approvals. However, developers cannot sublease the project assets to the third party without prior consent. The developers will transfer the project assets, excluding the boats, to the state-run Odisha Tourism Development Corporation on completion of the agreement period.

The developers, on their part, will provide boating facilities and other water sports equipment as well as maintain and manage the infrastructure. They will be free to fix the user fee from the customers.