The plan of setting up a culinary training institute at Farmagudi was initiated about eight years ago, and the foundation stone for the same was also laid.

Goa Tourism will tie up with an internationally acclaimed institution to operate the institute of hotel management and catering technology that is coming up at Farmagudi. The Central government-funded project is likely to be completed in a year and a half.

A tourism official said they do not wish to operate the institute on their own for obvious challenges involved. “A Switzerland-based institute was suggested by tourism stakeholders, and since we wanted to have an institute of repute on board, we initiated talks with the foreign institute,” the tourism official said.

The agreement with the institute, the officer said, will probably be signed before the project is completed so that it can be commissioned without delay. Some of the conditions of the agreement will be that a certain number of seats be reserved for Goan students, concession in fees, and scholarships to local students, besides adding terms for revenue-sharing.

The institute, the officer said, offers scholarships to its students in Switzerland. The same is expected here if the talks fructify.

“We don’t want to make money out of the project. Our plan is that Goan students should benefit. The government wants an agency to run the institute as it does not want to incur recurring expenses to operate it,” he added.

The government will hand over the completed structure to the selected institute. It will be the responsibility of the institute to arrange all facilities, including the kitchen training, he said.

The project was sanctioned INR 30 crore under the Diamond Jubilee grant of INR 300 crore that the state received from the Centre. “The project work has been on track, and will be completed within 12 to 18 months,” he said.

The plan of setting up a culinary training institute at Farmagudi was initiated about eight years ago, and the foundation stone for the same was also laid.

The project was to receive funds from the Centre, but its progression was delayed on several counts, and finally, it was annulled. More than a year ago, the state government resurrected the project.