The Punjabi diaspora is all set to get its home state a 7-star shine with big ticket investments planned for the region. Counted amongst Punjab’s most noteworthy expats, New York-based hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal has announced to invest about Rs 5,000 crore across India to develop 25 hotels over a period of four years. Hailing from Faridkot, Chatwal plans to pump a big chunk of this investment into his home state- Punjab to set up a 7-star hotel.
Talking to FE, Chatwal, chairman and CEO, Hampshire Hotels and Resorts said, “Looking at the growth potential of hospitality industry in Punjab, we are ready to invest between Rs 1,500 to 2,000 crore here. If things go right, Punjab will soon be able to boast of a seven-star hotel in Amritsar, under our flagship brand of ‘Hampshire Plaza’. We are already developing eight hotels under the brands of Hampshire Plaza and Dream Hotels in the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The project in Punjab will be unique in the sense that we plan to convert the Gobindgarh Fort in Amristar to a heritage museum based on the history of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, a cultural center and a seven star hotel. It will become a destination to promote Sikh culture and Punjabi traditions.”
The project will be rolled out once it gets a go ahead from the state government. Chatwal added further, “The Punjab government seems affirmative about the project and we are keen to develop more hotels across the state in cities like Ludhiana, Mohali and Chandigarh.”
Chatwal will launch a new hotel in Hyderabad on January 10 catalysing an investment of about Rs 125 crore and another one in Cochin in April costing Rs 200 crore. Staying in US since 32 years, Sant Singh Chatwal owns 12 hotels in Manhattan and one each in Miami, Washington and Bangkok. “Earlier we could not find any positive synergies to invest in Punjab. But now we are convinced about the business opportunities here and we will be expanding our network in north as well,” said Chatwal.
