The Hindu Business Line : Maharaja group to open amusement park in Coimbatore in April

FOR entertainment-starved Coimbatore, relief is round the corner with the Rs 25-crore amusement park `Maharaja World' set to open on Tamil New Year's day (April 14, 2006).

The Erode-based Maharaja group, which is it into a wide range of activities including textiles and edible oil manufacture, apart from running engineering colleges, is confident that the park will be a major hit not only with the people of Coimbatore but also those from neighbouring districts in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Mr P. Sathiyamoorthy, Managing Director, Maharaja Theme Parks and Resorts Ltd, Erode, said the park, coming up close to the Neelambur bye-pass road on the Coimbatore-Salem National Highway, about 20 km from the city, will be different from many of the amusement or theme parks in the country; it will offer a host of facilities such as multiplex cinema, a miniature golf course and a man-made hillock.

He said his group chose to establish the theme park near Coimbatore since the city was starved of entertainment facilities. The company also felt it would be able to leverage the brand value of the park as the group was also into edible oil and wheat flour manufacture. That the park is just a 20-minute drive away from Coimbatore is another advantage. He said the park has been allotted 15 acres of land, out of 60 acres owned by the group. Work on the park began two and half years ago, and Mr Sathiyamoorthy was confident of opening the park to visitors on Tamil New Year's day.

Mr Sathiyamoorthy said the park would be of "international standards" and great attention has been shown to create the perfect ambience for the visitors to enjoy. The amusement park will have seven distinct areas - the multiplex cinema with two a/c theatres, a food court, a miniature golf course, conference facilities and theme parks for kids and families and a water theme park. Each of the three parks will have fifteen rides. Since thrill rides need an investment of Rs 1.5 crore each, they will be offered later. Mr Sathiyamoorthy said there would be a single entry ticket for offeringsother than the multiplex and golf course. While for adults the entry fee would be around Rs 350, for kids it would about Rs 250. He was hopeful of the project achieving break-even in three to four years. But the company would have to continuously invest in creating new facilities to attract visitors. The park would be able to accommodate over 2,000 plus at any given time.

He said he wanted to promote the park not merely as a place to visit during vacation but as an entertainment centre where the family can relax. The park will be open up to 9 pm. He expected the advertisement budget in the run-up to the theme park opening to be around Rs 50 lakh.

Mr Sathiyamoorthy said in the next phase he planned to develop a resort that will have a jungle ambience. It would have bamboo cottages and individual swimming pools; the 10-acre project next to the amusement park would cost about Rs 5 crore.

An artificial hill has been created using black soil. Mr Sathiyamoorthy plans to build a restaurant atop the hill. He is also keen to establish a science and technology museum that will provide an interactive experience to visitors.

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