The monetisation process for India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC)’s prized property The Ashok in Delhi, with land parcels, will likely commence soon.
After IIT Roorkee completed a technical study, the process has gained pace under the new chief of ITDC, sources said. Last month, Rajasthan cadre IAS officer Mugdha Sinha was appointed as the managing director of ITDC.
After public private partnership appraisal committee vets the proposal, the floating of expression of interest (EoI) may take place, sources said.
Currently, the Centre owns 87.03% of ITDC while Tata Group’s Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) holds a 7.87% stake.
The proposed transaction may be structured as a public-private partnership (PPP) under which the hotel and land parcels will likely be leased out for the long term.
The monetisation of The Ashok and its vacant plots was estimated to be about Rs 7,500 crore, consisting of capital expenditure by the PPP concessionaire and upfront lease revenues to ITDC.
The redevelopment of the Ashok, which has been pending for more than two years, was originally part of the Rs 6 lakh crore National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) in the four years through FY25. Now, it is part of the Rs 10 lakh crore monetisation programme (NMP-2) during five years beginning FY26.
The integrated offering to the bidders –hotel and the land parcels—could include a leasing period of 60-99 years under an operation, management and development model.
The Ashok Hotel was built on 11.42 acres. It has a total inventory of 550 rooms, including 160 suites, barely a few hundred metres from the Prime Minister’s residence and various embassies. The winning bidder has invest in refurbishing the hotel on the lines of global iconic hotels.
A second land parcel (vacant) of 1.83 acres was earmarked for developing retail-cum-office space (mall) with a built-up area of 175,000 sq ft in an integrated building of 5/6 floors.
The third plot of 6.3 acres (vacant) was for building serviced apartments with a built-up area of 1.1 million sq ft, having 600-700 units.