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Puravankara enters the hospitality realm Bangalore-based

real estate developer, Puravankara, will be foraying into the hospitality industry. Plans are on to develop a total of five properties, of which two each will be in Bangalore and Kochi and one in Coimbatore. "We are also actively looking at Chennai and Pune for our next projects," stated Ashish Puravankara, director, Puravankara Projects. The properties in Bangalore, Kochi and Chennai will be five-star luxury resorts while the property in Coimbatore is slated to be a five-star business hotel with an inventory of 350 - 400 rooms.

To be developed at a total investment of around Rs 1000 crore, the projects will be financed through debts and internal accruals. "We find good opportunity for diversification in the hotel business. We already have land banks which can be converted into properties," explained Puravankara. Though still in the planning stage, the company is looking at a time frame of two to three years for the completion of the project.