Goa government to identify suitable land to set up Unity Mall project

Panaji: The Goa government will identify suitable land in the state to set up 'Unity Mall', a project being implemented under an ambitious scheme of the Centre, a minister said.

The Union government has proposed to set up Unity Malls in each state to promote the sale of each state's 'One district, One product' (ODOP) and handicraft products.

Addressing a press conference in Panaji on Thursday, Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte said, "The Goa government will soon identify suitable land to set up the Unity Mall, which will showcase products from across the state and those identified under the ODOP initiative."

Speaking after co-chairing the meeting of Goa Tourism Board along with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, he said the state can avail Rs 100 crore under the centrally-sponsored scheme to set up this mall.

This project will also be a tourist attraction, he said.

During the meeting, the Goa Tourism Board proposed to set up a world-class oceanarium at Quittol village in South Goa. This project would also be taken up under the central funding, Khaunte added.

Under 'Sagarmala', another central government scheme, the state has decided to promote cruise tourism, he said.

Measures taken to introduce Ease of Doing Business in the state are fetching desired results, the minister said.

"Before these measures were introduced, 4,000 hotels were registered, but now a total of 6,000 hotels are registered with the government. If the hotels are found to be not registered, the hoteliers have to pay a hefty fine," Khaunte said.