National Maritime Heritage Complex to come up near Ahmedabad in a place called Lothal

From among the several coastal states of the country, Lothal in Gujarat has been declared by the Union Port Ministry as the National Maritime Heritage and suitable complex is being developed by the central government to take its history to the people of the country.

Setting up of the complex commensurate with the National Maritime Heritage status at Lothal was decided through Memorandum of understanding signed by Minister of state for Ports and Shipping Mansukh Mandaivya and his ministeral counterpart from the Culture Ministry Prahalad Singh Patel at Transport bhavan earlier this week

The complex will be developed as an international tourist destination

The prestigious National Maritime Heritage complex will be developed in the vicinity of the ASI site of Lothal, located about 80km from Ahmedabad. The complex will be developed as an international tourist destination, where the maritime heritage of India from ancient to modern times will be showcased. The education and entertainment approach using the latest technology will be adopted to spread awareness about Gujarat’s Maritime heritage.

For developing the project, the land transfer formalities have been completed and all land-related clearances and the environmental nod have been obtained.

The NMHC will be developed in an area of about 400 acres. It will house unique structures such as National Maritime Heritage Museum, Lighthouse Museum, Heritage Theme Park, museum-themed hotels, maritime-themed eco-resorts, and Maritime Institute. These will be developed in a phased manner.

The complex will be developed as an international tourist destination Mandaviya said

Speaking on the occasion, Mandaviya said that the NMHC is to be developed as a first-of-its-kind centre in the country dedicated to the legacy of maritime heritage of  Gujarat.

Prahlad Singh Patel said that this cultural treasure needed to be preserved in one place. “We are able to bring out and convey the greatness of our cultural heritage to the world through museums,” he said.