The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), civic body for a 43 sq km area in the centre of this city, has decided to invite auction bids for a hotel property in the upmarket area of Chanakyapuri when the lease ends later this year.
The hotel Forte Grand, located close to the luxury Leela hotel, has its lease concluding in July this year. A senior NDMC official told Business Standard, “We have sought approval to issue a tender for the place once the lease comes to an end.”
The development comes on the heels of a similar decision still being considered for the Taj Mahal Hotel (popularly termed the Taj Mansingh, after the road on which it is situated) in the city centre. The property is on NDMC land and the lease ends in October 2012. It is unclear if fresh bids would be invited or the present management, the Tata Group’s Indian Hotels Company, would get an extension.
NDMC had sought to get the Infrastructure Finance Development Company to estimate the market price of the Mansingh property but there was a conflict of interest between the two parties and the arrangement has yet to be agreed. “We have not received any written communication from IDFC, but we will be back to square one if there is no financial advisor at this point,” a senior official in NDMC said.
The Forte Grand is run by Gesture Hotels and is a 9,600 sq ft property. “Getting a good location in Delhi is always a priced opportunity. This particular area is close to embassy offices and hence a VIP location. The price could be quite high,” a senior analyst said.
Earlier, National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC), to raise funds for constructing bungalows for senior bureaucrats, judges and ministers, had auctioned land in the same area and got Rs 611 crore. The buyer in this case was Leela Hotels and Resorts, which then built its luxury hotel there.
NDMC also sought to re-enter another property in central Delhi, Asian Hotels, whose lease expired in 2008. However, on getting an eviction notice, the tenant had got the matter stayed by order of the high court here.
