After the Singur setback in West Bengal, the next big investment in the eastern region from the house of the Tatas is headed towards Assam. Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata will announce a Rs 250-crore investment for a five-star hotel in Guwahati on Tuesday apart from possible announcement of a Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) facility in the state.
Speaking to FE over phone, Pradyut Bordoloi, industries minister of Assam, said, ?This hotel will be one of the Taj Group?s upmarket, top notch facility. The group will invest around Rs 250 crore for the facility. They have already set up a Ginger Hotel here.? Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) , which owns the flagship brand Taj, has already taken 15 bighas of land at Khanapara in eastern Guwahati on 90 years? land lease agreement.
Under the land leasing agreement, construction of the hotel will start within six months from the date of receipt of approval of building plans from Guwahati Municipal Corporation and Guwahati Municipal Development Authority. The facility will be operational within 48 months of execution of the deed.
Meanwhile, IHCL has already set up Ginger Hotel, economy category hotel of the group, in Guwahati. Sources said that in a bid to reduce its dependence on domestic metro properties in Delhi and Mumbai, which account for more than 50% of IHCL, the company is looking at expanding in tier II, III towns in the country. According to estimates of the industry department of Assam, almost Rs 1,000 crore will be invested in the hospitality sector in the state in next two years with three more groups planning to set up five-star hotels.
?While Tata Group is setting up one Institute of Social Sciences in Jalukabari, it also has proposed to open a TCS facility here,? Bordoloi said. In fact, Ratan Tata will also be present for the first meeting of the Assam Investment Advisory Board on Tuesday.
The first meeting is likely to be attended by 15 industrialists, including Bharti Group chairman and managing director Sunil Bharti Mittal, HSBC India country head Naina Lal Kidwai, State Bank of India chairman and managing director OP Bhatt and Williamson Magor Group chairman BM Khaitan.