Lavasa brings intl hospitality learning to India

* Signs agreement with Ecole Hôteliere de Lausanne (EHL) of Switzerland to setup a Hospitality Learning Centre at Lavasa hill town

Mumbai, August 21, 2007- Lavasa Corporation has signed an agreement with Ecole Hôteliere de Lausanne (EHL) of Switzerland to setup a Hospitality Learning Centre in Lavasa hill town near Pune. Under the auspices of the agreement, assistance will be delivered by Lausanne Hospitality Consulting (LHC), the Consulting & Executive Education arm of EHL.

The scope of consulting service covers various components such as building infrastructure, marketing consultation, design of the new academic curriculum, supervision of academic content, selection and training of management and faculty. The admission for the first batch in the Hospitality Learning Centre at Lavasa starts from 2009 onwards.

Globally, Ecole Hôteliere de Lausanne (EHL) is renowned for their balanced approach in hospitality and education where equal emphasis is laid on management abilities and skills development. It is envisaged that this school at Lavasa would fulfil an urgent need within the Indian hospitality industry.

Speaking on the tie-up, Mr. Rajgopal Nogja, Chief Operating Officer, Lavasa Corporation, said, "The need of training and developing young talent in the hospitality industry is indispensable nowadays for a country like India. It is our vision to develop Lavasa as a preferred destination for education and research. Our agreement with Ecole Hôteliere de Lausanne (EHL) will enable us to setup a world-class hospitality learning facility at Lavasa."

While Fortune, Novotel, Grand Mercure and Sheraton have already tied up to develop hotels at Lavasa, efforts are on-going to attract leaders in the field of tourism, education and healthcare. Whilst Symbiosis is developing a 40 acre campus primarily focussed on management education, a UK based IB school will also open in 2009 at Lavasa.

About Lavasa: Lavasa, a self-contained, modern Hill Town , is being developed by HCC Real Estate Ltd., a 100 per cent subsidiary of HCC (Hindustan Construction Company). Located in the Mose Valley, around 200kms from Mumbai and 65kms from Pune, Lavasa is being developed over 12,500 acres of picturesque landscape surrounding a 20km lake. It has been designed to preserve the beauty of the location whilst creating a 'sense of place', which delivers a sequence of experiences to residents and visitors.

Lavasa will offer an original style of living in a cosmopolitan mix of Residential, Commercial and Hospitality and is positioned to become a 'Centre of Excellence and Education', attracting international institutions in the field of Hospitality, Culinary, Higher Education and Management.

About Ecole Hôteliere de Lausanne (EHL): As the oldest hotel school in the world""founded in 1893""EHL offers university-level studies to talented and ambitious students who are aiming for top careers in the hospitality industry. In Switzerland, it is the only institute of hospitality management of HES, Haute Ecole Specialisee (University of Applied Sciences) level offering advanced programmes which are recognized by the Federal Council. Lausanne Hospitality Consulting (LHC), the consulting & Executive Education arm of EHL is established as a benchmark provider of management consulting, technical and behavioural development and executive education.