The Kanke Dam in Ranchi will be developed into an amusement park by next year.

Kaveri Divya Hotels Private Limited, owner of Capitol Hill Residency and Kaveri Restaurant in Ranchi, has bagged the tender and a formal agreement will be inked between Jharkhand Tourism Development Corporation (JTDC) and the state capital-based hospitality group later this month for operation of the facility under public private partnership mode.

Sources in the JTDC, which owns the 6-acre park near Kanke Dam, said that the private firm has to complete the process of renovation, operation and maintenance of the park within one year of setting up the facility after getting the work order.

“Kaveri Divya Hotels has bagged the tender and we will be signing a formal agreement soon for development of the tourist spot into tourism hub and amusement park,” JTDC general manager Anmol Kumar Singh said. “It will operate and maintain the infrastructure for a period of 25 years. The firm will have to pay an annual fee to us. We hope it would be a major tourist attraction by the first half of next year.”

The estimated cost of renovation of the amusement park is nearly Rs 2 crore, JTDC sources said.

“The private firm will soon be presenting us a detailed project report on the renovation of the existing infrastructure and addition of facilities as mentioned in the tender bid,” a source said.

A senior JTDC official said: “We would have liked the work order to have been issued earlier so that actual work could have commenced by now, but the tender process was delayed due to festivities and the model code of conduct for the Assembly elections,” said a senior JTDC official.

More than 6,000 visitors, including morning walkers, use the Kanke Dam park every day. It has a jogger’s track of nearly 400m, facilities for a light and sound show, space for a food court, restaurant, a landscaped garden, toilets, children’s play area, and a shed.

The play area will be renovated and enhanced, JTDC sources said. There will be a musical fountain, boating and water sports facilities, new joyrides, landscaping, open gyms, an area designated as a rain forest, an urban haat (market), in addition to theatres and connectivity with an existing rock garden.

“Musical fountain and laser show facilities need proper maintenance which the JTDC is unable to do, resulting in regular complaints from visitors,” said a senior JTDC official. “This is the reason behind outsourcing the project to a private agency so that existing facilities are maintained property and additional features attract more tourists.” JTDC officials also promised there would be parking bays.