SUITE DREAMS : Be our guest!
THE TIMES OF INDIA
NEW DELHI/NOIDA PLUS 29 September
In the run-up to the Commonwealth Games 2010, sites have been earmarked for 25 luxury hotels in Noida and 14 in Greater Noida. The scheme is expected to be launched soon. Afterall, work will have to be done on a war-footing if the deadlines are to be met!
Shailja Katyal Verma
Noida, despite its phenomenal all-round growth, cuts a sorry figure as far as the hospitality sector is concerned. But this image is set to change soon, courtesy Commonwealth Games 2010. If things go as per plan, the hotel accommodation crunch felt in the city might soon be a thing of the past. There is a proposal to set up as many as 25 new hotels in Noida and 14 in Greater Noida to meet the huge demand for hotel accommodation.
In a letter to UP chief minister Mulayam Singh, tourism and culture minister Ambika Soni on July 22 had requested for a constant follow-up and purposeful direction for commissioning about 10,000 rooms in the state on the periphery of Delhi before 2010. “Identification of viable hotel sites, selection of promoters, and facilitation through single window clearances need to be put in place on an urgent basis,” the letter said. “You may also like to add the change of classification of private land alongside the major highways on the borders of Delhi on payment of appropriate fees to facilitate availability of land,” it further added.
As per the plan, 10 five-star hotels in Sector 96, 97 and 98’ five four-star hotels in Sector 72, 124, 103, 105 and 135 and 10 three-star hotels in Sector 62, 72, 124, 103, 105, 135 and 142 will be constructed in Noida.
In Greater Noida, six hotels will be 5-star built on 10 acre land, five will be 4-star built on 5 acre and three will be 3-star on less than 5 acre land.
The opening of India Expo Centre Expo XXI, a world-class venue for holding exhibitions and conferences, this year, has also resulted in a substantial increase in the demand for rooms. The India Expo Centre Expo XXI is located in Greater Noida. Once more hotels come up, Indian and international delegates and participants in the exhibitions and events happening in this ultra-modern venue will have more options to choose from.
Says Noida CEO Sanjeev Saran, “We will launch the scheme soon inviting investments in the tourism sector.” Elaborating on the scheme, deputy general manger (commercial) D.B. Malik explains, “The sites have been earmarked and the terms and conditions for the scheme are currently being formulated. Applications would be invited from players who are registered and are already in the hotel business.”
For the five-star hotels, hoteliers with a turnover of Rs.100 crore in the last 3 years and 10 years’ experience will be eligible. For the 4-star hotels, those with a turnover of Rs.75 crore and experience of 10 years will be considered eligible and for the three-star category those players with a turnover of Rs.50 crore and five years’ experience will be eligible to apply. The selection will be on the basis of marking system (each applicant will be given marks) and in the case of two applicants getting the same marks, the selection will be made through a system of lottery. These hotels will be exempted from paying luxury tax for a period of five years.
Atul Chaturvedi, director-ministry of tourism, in a letter to Noida Authority chairman Rakesh Bahadur on August 2 had requested that necessary steps be taken so that hotels come up on the sites by 2009.
The tourism ministry expects 90,000 visitors during the Commonwealth Games. Of these 35,000 would require hotel accommodation; the rest would be accommodated through bed and breakfast arrangements. Currently only 10,000 rooms are available in the capital. So the surplus demand of nearly 25,000 extra hotel rooms will have to be met by constructing new hotels in the neighbouring states of UP and Haryana.
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