VMRDA to set up a planetarium and a natural history museum in Visakhapatnam

On Wednesday, the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA) Commissioner P Koteswara Rao announced that plans are afoot to set up a planetarium Kailasagiri Hilltop Park and a Natural History Park and Museum (NHPM) at Kapuluppada in Visakhapatnam. 

In a meeting held on Tuesday, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, approved both the projects in Visakhapatnam. Furthermore, Mr Reddy ordered the officials to begin the tendering process for the museum. 

Speaking to media, Mr Koteswara Rao informed that the three-dimensional planetarium, estimated to be set up with a cost of 34 crores, will be built with a seating capacity of two hundred on Kailasagiri Hilltop Park. In order to get acquainted with the technology involved in the project, a team of engineers from the VMRDA visited the Pilikula Regional Science Center and Swami Vivekananda Planetarium in Mangalore, which is the first-ever three-dimensional planetarium in India. 

The VMRDA is also planning to pave the way for a natural development park and museum over a fifteen-acre land at Kapuluppada, with a budget of Rs 80 crore. Reportedly, the NHPM will showcase the specimen of plants, animals, and insects for improved understanding of their natural habitat. The park is also touted to feature will create life-size models of dinosaurs and other animals, which will be created with the help of virtual reality. Also, a biodiversity park, an environment protection incubator, an oceanography research centre and a cradle of mankind explaining the evolution of mankind will also constitute the project.