Sale Of 5 Itdc Properties Cleared

The Cabinet Committee on Divestment (CCD) today cleared the sale of five India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) properties and finalised the transaction documents for newsprint manufacturer Nepa Ltd. No decision was, however, taken on the Ranjit hotel in the capital. While the Kanishka at Delhi was bagged by Sud-promoted Nehru Place Hotels for Rs 95.95 crore, the Indraprastha property was sold to Moral Trading & Investment Ltd for Rs 45.03 crore. The reserve price for the hotels was Rs 70.90 crore and Rs 18.34 crore respectively.

Kanishka was the most expensive and most widely participated deal in the ITDC divestment till date by attracting eight bids. Even Indraprastha generated interest from six bidders unlike the other properties which attracted 2-3 bids each.

 

The Chandigarh project, which was yet to be completed, had a reserve price of Rs 14.01 crore. It was sold to TajGVK Hotels and Resorts for Rs 17.27 crore which is a joint venture of the Taj group of hotels with the Hyderabad-based GVK group.

The Khajuraho Ashok went to Lalit Suri of the Bharat Hotels for Rs 2.21 crore. The reserve price for the hotel was Rs 2.01 crore. Varanasi Ashok was, on the other hand, bagged by Moral Trading & Investment Ltd for Rs 9.11 crore as against the reserve price of Rs 5.55 crore.

Ranjit hotel was, however, not considered by the CCD today. The government has referred the matter to a sub-committee to revalue the property before finally awarding it to any private player. The reserve price of the hotel was being reconsidered since the hotel would no longer continue to be a hotel and according to land-use specifications could be converted into an official-cum-shopping complex. The Umesh Sarraf-promoted Unison Hotels was expected to have emerged as the highest bidder for hotel Ranjit by quoting a price of Rs 30.30 crore.

The CCD also approved the transaction documents for Madhya Pradesh-based newsprint company Nepa Ltd after resolving the issues relating to forest land and set the stage for invitation of final price bids. Nepa had been allotted 1500 acres of land by the state government but only 19 acres was actually transferred. As per the agreement, 1000 acres would be transferred while 500 acres, which does not even have forest cover, would be returned.