The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), which runs the Taj group of hotels, has evinced interest to set up its maiden premium five star hotel in Bhubaneswar.
IHCL, the country’s second-biggest hotel company by room inventory, has sought an area of seven acres for developing the new project in the city that would entail a minimum investment of Rs 75 crore.
“Guwahati based developer Unique Properties Private Limited (UPPL) will develop the project at Bhubaneswar for IHCL”, said an official in the know. UPPL will show the sites and take the approval of the company so that it fulfills the standards of Taj brand, he added.
The official further said that IHCL and UPPL will enter into an operating agreement for managing the property in Bhubaneswar.
Sources say, the proposal of IHCL will be placed before the state task force soon before taking it forward for approval of the State Level Single Window Clearance Authority.
It may be noted, Roots Corporation Limited (RCL) - a subsidiary of IHCL that runs Ginger hotels in the economy category, presently operates one hotel in Bhubaneswar. It plans to open more hotels in industrial towns of Paradip, Kalinga Nagar and Jharsuguda as part of its expansion plans.
Similarly, ITC Hotels, India's premier chain of luxury hotels, is also planning to set up a luxury hotel in the city. “ITC would be coming up with a luxury hotel in Bhubaneswar as part of its expansion plan. However, everything is in the drawing board stage,” said a company spokesperson.
Mayfair Hotels & Resorts and Trident are the only two hotels in Odisha operating in the five star deluxe bracket with a total room strength of 164.
Industry experts say, the annual average occupancy of these two five star hotels is expected to be around 70%. In 2010-11, approximately 53,212 foreign tourists visited the state, while the number has increased to 62,816 in 2011-12.
