Tatas announce new hotel near EM Bypass
Times of India — June 23, 2007

On Thursday when the Left Front celebrated 30 years of uninterrupted rule in Bengal, Tata firm Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) said it will set up a second hotel in Kolkata to cash in on the city's IT boom.

IHCL said the latest facility here — a mid-market Gateway hotel — would be established on a 1.9-acre plot at the Rashbehari Connector near the tech hub at Salt Lake's Sector V by 2009, and would contain 200 rooms.

To be a part of the Taj business hotels portfolio, the hotel would be operated on the basis of a management contract between IHCL and city-based Jalan Intercontinental Hotels, promoted by Jalan Distributors. However, the project cost was not disclosed.

Taj Business Hotels chief operating officer Jamshed S Daboo said: "The launch of our second hotel in Kolkata is a significant milestone. It will give us critical inventory in this burgeoning market. The strategic location, coupled with the timing of the project, are key factors that will help us enhance and consolidate our leadership position."

Kolkata currently has five 5-star deluxe hotels, these being ITC Sonar Bangla, Oberoi Grand, Taj Bengal, Hyatt Regency and The Park. All these hotels have been witnessing high occupancies ranging between 75-90 per cent over the last three years. The city's hospitality scenario is expected to hot up further with the impending entry of DLF and Emaar on the scene.

Earlier this month, DLF said it would spend Rs600 crore to set up one luxury hotel, one business class hotel and one service apartment facility on a 5.5-acre plot in Kolkata.