Orissa Tourism Pares Stake In Puri Hotel

The Orissa Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) has diluted its stake from 49 per cent to 11 per cent in the loss-making Hotel Nilachal Ashok located at Puri. The divested shares have been bought by the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), the other partner in the project.

Following the swap, ITDCs stake in the hotel, built in the 80s, has gone up from 51 per cent to 89 per cent. The unit had suffered an accumulated loss of Rs 4 crore during the last decade. ITDC is reported to have paid Rs 1.75 crore for acquisition of the extra shares.

The money, according to sources, would be utilised for repayment of the loan taken from the Orissa State Finance Corporation and the Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation (Ipicol) for the construction of the hotel.

 

Meanwhile, according to tourism department sources, the government is in the process of working out a comprehensive tourism policy for the state.

The draft policy is already ready and will be announced after getting the cabinet nod. The policy intends to provide wide-ranging concessions to tourism-related projects.

For speedy implementation of the projects, the draft also provides for a single-window clearance system.

The new policy, sources said, will encourage entrepreneurs to put up golf courses, amusement parks, roadways, and sound-and-light arrangements at selected places.

The construction of hotels and provision of transport facilities for tourists would also be entrusted to private operators.

The government has already chalked out the blueprint for an ambitious tourist complex near Puri. Set to come up over 3,500 acres, the complex will have all amenities including an airstrip and a hospital.