Sun temple in Konark. Telegraph pictures

Bhubaneswar, May 9: The beautification drive and tourism infrastructure development work at the Sun temple in Konark is likely to start from July.

The Rs 29-crore project will take more than two years to complete. It will include a tourist interpretation centre near the entrance to the world heritage site, a waiting hall for visitors and a cafeteria, apart from seating arrangements, parking and toilet facilities.

The beautification plan will include landscaping and a garden in sync with the architectural aesthetics of the main monument. The tourist interpretation centre will provide an insight into the history, making and facts behind the Sun temple, which is also known as Black Pagoda for its unique architectural style.

“A tourist, especially a foreigner, will immensely benefit from the interpretation centre as everything will be there to enrich his/her knowledge base,’’ said an official of the tourism department.

The Odisha government convened a coordination meeting today where the progress relating to the drainage, structural aspects and beautification drives were discussed.

This was a follow-up to the international meet on the safety aspect of the Konark Sun temple, which was held in 2010 following reports of severe waterlogging on the premises of the historic structure. The world heritage site is an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)-protected monument.

ASI superintending archaeologist A.K. Patel said: “At today’s meeting, we decided many things, including the structural safety aspects. As we are going for some work with scaffolding this season, the IIT-Bhubaneswar has been requested to examine the entire structural aspect of it and give the project a go-ahead.’’

“Materials for the scaffolding have already arrived in Konark. But, we have requested the IIT experts to study the safety aspect first. After the 2010 international meet, a steering committee was formed which included the ASI director general. Later, a technical working group was also constituted to look into the details of the monument,’’ he added.