Wonderla Holidays to set up amusement park in Hyderabad

After establishing a strong foothold in Kerala and Karnataka, Kerala-based amusement park Wonderla Holidays (formerly Veegaland) plans to set up its first amusement park in Hyderabad and is awaiting approvals from the government in this regard, a top company official said.

Wonderla Holidays, Managing Director, Arun K Chittilappilly, informed shareholders at the annual general body meeting that the company was awaiting project approval from Hyderabad Metropolitan Authority to commence construction at park.

"It is expected to start commercial operation during the financial year 2016-17.", he said.

On expansion plans, he said, the company was eyeing for a "suitable land" near Chennai for its fourth amusement park in the region.

Earlier, in his address, Wonderla Holidays, Chairman, George Joseph said the company was following growth strategy in which it planned to upgrade existing parks, increasing non-ticketing revenue and opening of new amusement parks across the country.

According to Chittilappilly, in 2013-14, the company witnessed a footfall of 22.91 lakh visitors against 23.40 lakh during the same period of last year.

The total turnover for the period 2013-14 was Rs 156.60 crore as against Rs 139.36 crore registered during the same period of previous year. Profit after tax grew to Rs 398.92 crore from Rs 335.69 crore registered during the same period of previous year, he said.