Six lighthouses off Andhra Pradesh coast will be developed to promote tourism in the State, said AM Suraj, Director-General of Lighthouses.

He was speaking at a seminar on promotion of tourism through lighthouses here on Saturday. Suraj said there were 189 lighthouses dotting the Indian coast, of which 78, including the six in Andhra Pradesh, had been identified for development.

The six in AP are Nagayalanka, an island in Krishna district, Antarvedi, Vakalapudi and Sacremento in East Godavari district, Santapalli in Vizianagaram district and Kalingapatnam in Srikakulam district.

He said these lighthouses would be developed as a part of the Sagarmala project within the limits set by the CRZ norms. They would be developed with the assistance of the private sector under the public-private partnership mode.

Star hotels, food courts, spas and convention halls would be built near these places. He said the lighthouses in Chennai, Mahabalipuram, Alappuzha, and Kannur had been developed.

Rabindra Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Sagarmala project, said lighthouse tourism had the potential to create a lot of employment opportunities.

A mega investors' conference would be held in Mumbai on the issue on Oct. 29 in which Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari will participate.