Greyhounds base to become mega convention hub in Vizag

Visakhapatnam: The Visakhapatnam district authorities are planning to redevelop the existing Greyhounds base—an elite anti-Naxal force facility—located on a hill at Timmapuram along the Bheemili Beach Road, into a large convention centre along with hotels, IT firms and other infrastructure.

Earlier, there were plans to set up a few IT firms on the hill, given its proximity to the Madhurawada IT SEZ. However, the government now appears to have shifted focus towards developing a major convention centre, citing the lack of such a facility in the vicinity.

For context, the government had already allotted over 500 acres of land to the Greyhounds Centre at Relli village in the S Kota Assembly constituency of Vizianagaram district. Previously, around 526 acres—comprising both government and private land—had been acquired for the proposed Central Tribal University of Andhra Pradesh (CTUAP). However, the YSRCP government later shifted the university to Kuntivalasa village between Gajapatinagaram and Saluru Assembly constituencies.

During the Visakhapatnam Economic Region (VER) review meeting on Friday, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu instructed district officials to develop a convention centre at the present Greyhounds base. The site, spread over more than 300 acres, has housed the Greyhounds unit for over a decade and a half, even before the state bifurcation in 2014.

Currently, the base accommodates more than 1,000 personnel engaged in anti-Naxal operations. It is notable that the CPI (Maoist) network in the Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB)—once considered the second-strongest Naxal zone in the country—has been significantly weakened in recent years due to encounters, surrenders and arrests.

With Maoist activity declining, the government is now prioritising developmental initiatives. District collector Abhishikt Kishore told TOI that around 30 acres have been earmarked for a Bharat Mandapam-style convention centre. In addition, hotels, IT firms and other facilities are planned. He added that a master plan is currently being prepared, and the relocation of the Greyhounds base is likely to take at least a year.