Premium Indian hotel chain, the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, is investing Rs.2,200 crore

Lalit Suri hotel group firms up $500 mn expansion plan

Premium Indian hotel chain, the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, is investing Rs.2,200 crore (nearly $500 million) towards expansion, with plans to actively participate in public-private-partnership projects to promote tourism in the country.

The group, operating luxury hotels under the brand name The Lalit, will invest Rs.1,200 crore on expanding properties in the the premium segment, said the group's chairperson and managing director Jyotsna Suri.

"We are coming up with hotels in Kolkata, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Noida, Amritsar and Dehradun over the next two years. The properties in Chandigarh and Jaipur are almost ready. These will be operational by early next year," Suri told IANS in an interview.

The group, which represented InterContinental Group of hotels before rebranding itself in 2008, plans to double the number of rooms in luxury segment to 3,600 by 2012 from the present 2,000, the chairperson said.

It is also looking at opportunities in the mid segment and has planned 25 hotels with an investment of Rs.800 crore ($175 million).

"By 2013, we plan to have an inventory of 1,400 rooms in the mid segment. We will set up mid-market hotels in Tier-I and Tier-II cities like Ludhiana and Surat. Each of these hotels will have 50-75 rooms," Suri said.

The group will fund the expansion through a mix of internal accruals and debt.

At present, brand The Lalit has eight properties in India, six hotels operate under The Lalit brand, two in Goa and Mumbai have a co-branding with InterContinental. On the two overseas properties, Suri said a hotel in Dubai and the resort at Koh Samui in Thailand will start next year.

"The Lalit Grand Fort Dubai and the Lalit Resort and Spa in Koh Samui will be ready for guests by 2011," she said, adding the group was investing around Rs.175 crore (nearly $40 million) in the Thai property.

She also hinted that the group has plans to raise capital through initial public offer. "Not right now, but we may come up with an offer when the market is right -- maybe in a year or two."

Talking about public-private partnerships, Suri said: "We are keen on such projects. We want to be an active participant. Right now, we are working only with the government of Rajasthan, but we will pursue such projects in other states and at the Central level."

At present, the group is overseeing public conveniences at Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar and Albert Hall Museum in Rajasthan. It also maintains a three-acre garden at the Jantar Mantar and Albert Hall Museum in the state.

Suri said as part of its corporate social responsibility initiatives, the group also provides vocational training in the hospitality industry, including computer literacy and personality development programmes under Project Disha.

"We are providing library facilities and offering professional training through centres in Khajurao (Madhya Pradesh), Udaipur (Rajasthan) and Bekal (Kerala). Soon we will come up with centres in Kolkata and Dehradun."

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