Posted Nov 4, 2009, 9:51 AM
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Join Date: Aug 2009
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Quote:
ITC has drawn up big expansion plans for its hotel division in Kolkata and plans to invest Rs 1,500 crore for the initiatives. It will be setting up ITC Sonar Tower-II adjacent to the existing ITC Sonar in the eastern fringes of the city. And unlike the existing one, the new one, which would have about 500 rooms, will have a tall structure (possibly a 27-storey building). The hotel is expected to be complete in three years.
ITC and ITC Hotels officials are tightlipped about the expansion project. A detailed mailed questionnaire sent to the company did not get any response. However, Kolkata Municipal Corp (KMC) officials have confirmed having sanctioned ITC Hotels’ Sonar Tower-II with a total covered area of 1.5 million sq ft. Larsen & Toubro has confirmed having bagged a Rs 238 crore construction order for ITC's second hotel project in the city. The most recent annual report of ITC lists Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata under ‘three great hotels in the making’, which the company claims will add to its chain of super-deluxe properties.
Talking about the hotel division, ITC chairman Y C Deveshwar had said at the company’s 98th annual general meeting the company was in possession of land in cities such as Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bhubaneshwar, Coimbatore and Gurgaon where hotels would be set up. The company is expanding its hotel in Kolkata and setting up a new one with 470 rooms in the city. Deveshwar, however, did not give any timeframe for completion of these projects.
Deveshwar had said that ITC is looking at acquiring properties at reasonable prices to expand its hotel business. And this seven-acre property adjacent to its existing property has now come in handy. “Since seven acres may not be enough for a 500-room, super-luxury hotel, ITC has decided to go vertical this time. Architecturally and from a design standpoint, a vertical structure is better than a horizontal structure, insiders told Financial Chronicle.
The 238-room ITC Sonar of ITC Hotels in Kolkata is ranked No 1 in the hotel industries’ ‘Value Index’ (an industry parlance that measures occupancy rates and revenue, among other things) in the city and this recognition prompted the latest expansion plans.
According to KMC officials, the sanctioned plan talks of a super-luxury hotel with 500-plus rooms built on 27 floors (350 feet). As per the initial plans, the hotel will include seven multi-cuisine restaurants, retail showrooms, 24-hour coffee shop and a banquet hall, among other facilities.
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Source : Financial Chronicle
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