After receiving a lukewarm response to its bids for developing four five-star hotels as a part of its Rs 3,500-crore showpiece Shamuka tourism project, the Orissa government has decided to change the provisions in the bid document before going for the fresh bidding process.
The state government has engaged global consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to incorporate some new provisions in the bid document for the Shamuka tourism project so as to make it investor friendly.
Moreover, the state tourism department is planning to launch campaigns for the tourism project both within the country and in some select overseas destinations to attract the investors.
“Given the current economic downturn, some changes were necessary in the bid document for the Shamuka tourism project to attract the investors. We have engaged PwC for preparing the bid document and the firm is expected to submit the document by the end of this month”, an official source told Business Standard.
The status of the Shamuka tourism project was reviewed earlier this month by a high-level empowered committee chaired by the state chief minister.
The fresh bids for developing the four five star hotels as well as selecting the master developer for the Shamuka tourism project would be invited by the end of August this year.
The Shamuka tourism project is being developed over an area of about 1,000 acres on the public-private partnership (PPP) mode.
While the four five star hotels would be developed on 100 acres of land, the master developer was to develop the infrastructure on the remaining 900 acres of land at the site of the project, near Sipasarubali, about 10 km south of Puri.
It may be noted that only three hotel chains had participated in the final bidding process for developing the four five star hotels.
Earlier, eleven bidders were shortlisted in the pre-bidding process held in September last year. The shortlisted payers include both individual as well as joint bidders like Taj Group of Hotels and Resorts, ITC, Park Hotels, Ananda Spa, Emaar MGF with Hyatt, DLF with Hilton, Unitech with Starhood and Zoom Developers with Kamat hotels.
The state government is investing Rs 50-70 crore on providing external infrastructure like electricity and water supply for the five-star hotel properties.
Apart from the four five star hotels, the Shmauka tourism project would have facilities like a convention centre of international standards with a seating capacity of nearly 1,500, an 18-hole golf course, boutique hotels, international spa and wellness centres, an entertainment zone and sports facilities.
