The recession seems to have plagued a series of five-star hotel projects in Uttarakhand.
“Most of the five-star hotel projects, which are being proposed in our state are badly hit by the recession,” said tourism minister Prakash Pant. Besides, nearly one dozen small hotels, which are being constructed at different areas of the state, are also being hit by the global meltdown.
Emaar MGF Consortium and Inter Continental Hotel group jointly won the bid in 2007 for constructing a five-star hotel in Dehra Dun with a cost of Rs 75 crore. But till now, the construction activities have not started due to the recession. The 165-room hotel is being constructed at 10 acres of government land at Garhi Cant area of the city.
The Uttarakhand government is providing the land under private-public partnership (PPP) mode with a monthly license fee of Rs 51.35 lakh and an annual lease rent of 15.63 lakh for a period of 30 years.
The government would earn a revenue of Rs 7 crore per year through this deal, Pant said. Already, the joint company has given the first installment of Rs 1.20 crore to the Uttarakhand Tourism Department.
Besides 165 rooms, the hotel will have a swimming pool, a health club, a business hall, and a 260-seat meeting hall.
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Another five-star hotel project, the first in the Kumaon region, is coming up in Rudrapur, the industrial hub of Uttarakhand, with an investment of Rs 100 crore.
The hotel is being set up by Doon Valley Technopolis Pvt Ltd, a newly-floated joint venture company of two real estate companies — Assotech Ltd and Supertech Ltd. Though the company had initially claimed it would complete the project in one year, the recession seems to have delayed it.
The international standard upmarket hotel will be named 'Radisson Hotel Metropolis Rudrapur' under the licence agreement and management right with Radisson Brand of Carlson Hotels Worldwide.
Similarly, the five-star hotel project of ace shooter Abhinav Bindra in Dehra Dun has also failed to take off due to administrative delays and recession. Bindras had submitted a proposal to the government last year for setting up a five-star hotel on their 9 acre farmhouse here.
The government has also given permission to Bharat Hotels for constructing a five-star hotel near Rishikesh. But no activity has started yet, officials said.
However, as the market sentiments are now improving, Pant said there was now hope that these projects would take shape soon.