Sterling Holiday Resorts wins bid for resort at Gajoldoba in West Bengal

Government of West Bengal is developing the spot as an eco-tourism hub with investment of Rs 100 crore

Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited, a wholly owned independently managed subsidiary of Thomas Cook (India) Limited (TCIL), has won a bid to build a 3-star resort property at the proposed eco-tourism hub in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal. The company plans to build a 50-70 room eco-resort spread over a three-acre land with an investment of about Rs 25-30 crore.

The resort will be built at Gajoldoba, the eco-tourism hub planned by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee in Jalpaiguri. The Government of West Bengal has invested Rs 100 crore in building infrastructure of the hub and all interior and arterial roads, power stations for supply of electricity and drainage systems are expected to be in place soon, said the company.

Ramesh Ramanathan, managing director, Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited said, "Sterling Holidays is enthusiastic about the opportunity to work with the West Bengal government to establish one of the country's largest eco-tourism hubs."

The site is situated at a convenient distance of 25kms from Siliguri and 40 kms from Bagdogra Airport, announced the company. As per the government's plan, Gajoldoba, an unexplored destination on the bank of Teesta River in Jalpaiguri district close to Mount Kanchenjunga, is to be developed as an ecotourism hub. The resort site is located opposite a huge marshland which is a nesting place for migratory birds and is surrounded by mesmeric mountains of Kalimpong, Lava, Lolegaon and Bhutan on its eastern and southern borders respectively and on the west, by the Baikanthapur National forest.

Currently, Sterling has an inventory of 1767 rooms spread across 24 resorts located in Corbett, Daman, Darjeeling, Dindi, Dharamshala, Gangtok, Goa, Karwar, Kodaikanal, Lonavala, Manali, Munnar, Mussoorie, Nainital, Ooty, Puri, Sariska, Shirdi, Thekkady, Yelagiri and Yercaud. The company also has 15 additional sites where it plans to add new resorts in the coming years.