Upfront

Kolkata Municipal Corporation forays into hospitality

Taking a cue from Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA), the cash-strapped Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has decided to foray into the hospitality arena. It has recently issued a Request for Proposal (RFP), inviting offers from hospitality groups for setting up a five-star/five-star deluxe hotel on a plot of land it owns.

This 'unused' land measuring approximately 5.54 acres, off Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, which it proposes to sell for setting up an international class hotel is strategically located and easily connected with the CBD of the city. The land is located on the stretch between ITC Hotel Sonar Bangla Sheraton & Towers and Hyatt Regency.

The RFP states that KMC wants the project to be developed by a renowned hotel group, which has expertise of managing at least one five-star hotel anywhere in the world for the last five years.

Haryana to get two new hotel management institutes

The government of Haryana, in collaboration with the private sector, is to set up two hotel management institutes in the state. This will be apart from the project announced during the Union Budget 2006.

Speaking to Express Hospitality, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, chief minister, Government of Haryana, revealed that the state government has identified and allotted plots in Rohtak and Faridabad for these institutes. Each site, which is five acres each, will be offered on a leasehold basis to the selected applicants. "The government has proposed to reserve 25 per cent of the seats for local candidates for all management courses," Hooda further divulged. So far government officials have claimed to have received over 26 Expressions of Interests from investors to set up the institutes.