The shipping ministry along with the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL) has drawn up an ambitious programme to develop 78 lighthouses in the country as centres of tourism in the first phase under Public Private Partnership (PPP). The identified lighthouses are in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. <br/><br/>AIR correspondent reports, the land adjacent to these lighthouses may have hotels, resorts, viewing galleries, maritime museums and heritage museums, adventure sports facilities, thematic restaurants, souvenir shops, LASER shows, spa and rejuvenation centers, to attract the tourists.<br/><br/>The DGLL has already invited Request for Qualifications (RFQ) from prospective and potential developers for eight Lighthouses at Aguada (Goa), Chandrabhaga (Odisha), Mahabalipuram, Kanya Kumari and Muttom (Tamil Nadu), Kadalur Point (Thikkodi, Kerala), Kanhoji Angre and Sunk Rock (Maharashtra) and Minicoy (Lakshadweep). <br/><br/>An Expression of Interest (EOI) has also been issued by DGLL for another 70 lighthouses. India has 189 lighthouses dotting its vast coast line of 7517 Kms, including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep Islands in the Arabian Sea.