PANAJI: The decade-long project to build a dedicated market for Goan artisans and self-help groups has got a fresh lease of life with yet another attempt being made to build Goa Haat, a village market along the lines of the Dilli Haat in New Delhi.
The Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) has started a fresh attempt to build the three storey complex, which is estimated to cost Rs 22 crore.
The project will have stilt parking, an upper ground floor and an exhibition area, spread over 4,500sqm and will take around a year to complete, sources said. The project will come up on the eastern side of the Rua de Ourem creek at Neugi Nagar in Panaji.
According to government officials, the facility will act as a one-stop shop for Goans artisans and craftsmen to promote local handicrafts.
It will not only create entrepreneurship opportunities, but also aid revenue generation, the officials said.
Originally conceptualised by Congress in 2009 as Shilpgram project, it was canned by former chief minister Manohar Parrikar in 2013.
It was revived in 2018, when land was earmarked for the project.
The Shilpgram project was meant to facilitate exports of Goan handicrafts, promote handicraft-based tourism on the lines of Delhi Haat and Chokhi Dhani in Jaipur and promote local handicrafts and artisans among tourists.
In 2018, the state government had announced that it intended to build a dedicated market for handicrafts and wanted to call it Goa Bazaar.
The Goa Haat will be financed by the state and central governments to the tune of about Rs 22.1 crore.
The GTDC has already floated a tender to select a developer to build the structure based on the detailed project report prepared earlier.
