Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will inaugurate the museum which boasts of 13 galleries with themes such as rich maritime history of Odisha, navigation techniques of the past and the present, a coastal gallery, an amphitheatre and a research centre.
The unit aims to revive the maritime glory of ancient Kalinga and preserve the rich heritage of Odisha.
Spread over a sprawling area of over four acres, the museum also has a boatshed where boats of various states including Odisha’s ancient boita, Viking boats, Kerala’s snake boat and Kashmir’s shikara have been displayed.
Developed by Indian National Trust for Art and Culture with assistance from the state water resources department, the museum has been built by renovating the British-era Maritime Engineering Workshop.
According to officials a maritime aquarium will also be set up soon that will display different marine species and provide information about underwater vegetation.
The project began in 2007 after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik laid the foundation stone.