TU-142M Aircraft Museum’s Land Issue With AU Sorted

The land issue surrounding the TU-142M aircraft museum with Andhra University seems to be sorted. The government’s aircraft museum project proposed on Beach Road will now be materialising according to schedule. District Collector Pravin Kumar reportedly stated that the state government negotiated with AU for one acre of land near the convention centre and the university has agreed to part with it.

The tourism project will be developed in collaboration with VUDA as a stakeholder and AU as a partner. The museum that will be placed besides Kursura will run on the theme of ‘the hunter and the hunted’. The War Memorial will also be included into the theme and a sound cum light show will be additionally put in place. The Collector claims that the submarine and aircraft placed together will make it the first in the world.

The project will cost Rs 10 crore, with Rs 2-3 crore going towards the dismantling of the aircraft itself. The aircraft will be dismantled into 30 pieces and assembled at the site again after transportation. 10 trucks will transport the dismantled pieces to the site. The contract for the dismantling, transportation and assembling has already been handed over to a private firm.

The target is to have the Chief Minister inaugurate the museum on August 15. However, reports state that while the aircraft will be at the site ready for inauguration on the deadline, it will not be open to tourists yet. The monsoon and funds from stakeholders are expected to cause a delay in the process. While the aircraft will be in place on August 15, it will take a few more months for the project to reach proper completion.

The GVMC had recently demolished various shops along the Beach Road as part of its beautification process and to make space for tourism projects like the TU-142M.