Itc Hotels Aims To Double Room Capacity By 2001

ITC Hotels expansion plans for doubling room capacity to 5000, involving a combined investment of Rs 600 crore, is expected to be completed by 2001.

According to company sources, work on the Rs 450-crore, 340 room hotel at Mumbai has commenced and will be operational by end 2000. Hotels at Calcutta and Jaisalmer are also proposed.

In Calcutta, pre-project activities for the Rs 150-crore venture have commenced after resolution of the legal dispute with the Taj group. The hotel is expected to commence operation by 2001. The hotel at Jaisalmer, a comparatively smaller project of Rs 10 crore, is still in the conception stage, but is expected to begin commercial activities in another 2 years.

 

Hotels and related activities which have become the ITC groups core area along with tobacco, and paper and packaging have received a fillip within the group after the induction of the company managing director S S H Rehman as a member of the ITC board.

Rehman is also in charge of activities related to synergy between real estate development and travel and tourism. Meanwhile, Fortune Park Hotels flagship, Fortune Hotel Gemini Park coming up at Chennai, is slated to commence operations early next year.

The Fortune Park group, a subsidiary of ITC Hotels aimed at the mid-price segment, has more projects in the pipeline. The group aims to expand the room capacity to 605 rooms, besides the flagship project, from the current capacity of 192 rooms through establishment of four new hotels at Ahmedabad, Pune, Calicut and Parel.

Fortune Hotel Landmark ,Ahmedabad, with a capacity of 96 rooms is slated to open in April this year. The hotels at Pune (having a capacity of 176 rooms) and Calicut (having a capacity of 83 rooms) are expected to commence operations in November this year. Fortune Hotel at Parel will have a capacity of 250 rooms. No specific funds have been earmarked for Fortune Park Hotels, although the finances shall be raised on a need based basis from internal accruals and debt.

Fortune Park Hotels is a hotel consultancy with a total subscribed capital of Rs 45 lakh. It offers turnkey technical services and thereafter takes over the hotels under an operations and marketing services agreement.