INDIAN hotel chain EIH Ltd has announced it will manage a long-awaited luxury hotel in Dubai which will be built by a real estate company at an investment of $100 million, its top official said on Friday.
EIH also planned another 11 projects in India and other Asian countries, chairman PRS Oberoi told shareholders.
“The Rani International, which is part of the Aujan Group, will invest in the Dubai project and we will manage and run the hotel,” he told reporters at a news conference later.
“The hospitality industry is witnessing unprecedented growth. The increase in revenue and profitability of the company bears witness to the exciting times ahead," he said.
The Dubai property will comprise a 250-key hotel and 40 serviced apartments located at the Business Bay, part of a multi-use development near the new Burj Dubai. The hotel is expected to be in operation by early 2009.
In 2007, the company plans to start work on its hotels in the Maldives and at Siem Reap (Angkor Wat, Cambodia) and also begin running a second Nile cruiser in Egypt.
EIH, which owns and operates the Oberoi chain of hotels, also plans to put up luxury hotels in Bangalore, Goa and Gurgaon, among other locations.
Other planned properties include a 437-key Trident Hilton hotel at Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex, set to open in 2008; a 150-key Oberoi luxury hotel next to the Trident Hilton Gurgaon and a 130-unit Oberoi luxury hotel with 40 serviced apartments near Manesar in Gurgaon, which will be owned by the Uppal Group.
The Company is also building Oberoi brand luxury hotels in Goa and in Bangalore. While the Goa property is located on a 50-acre beachfront site that the Company has owned for some time, the 225-unit Bangalore property is being built on eight acres overlooking Hebbel Lake and is poised to be the nearest luxury hotel to the new Bangalore International Airport.
A 250 key Trident Hilton Hotel and 50 service apartments located at Hitech City, Hyderabad are planned. Rajgarh Palace, 25km from Khajuraho, is being converted into a luxury hotel on a 60 acre site with a private lake.
A world class luxury train, developed as a joint-venture between EIH, the government of Rajasthan and the Indian Railways, has been approved and will take a seven day circuit, Delhi-Jaipur-Jodhpur-Jaisalmer-Udaipur-Ranthambhore-Agra-Delhi.
“Our properties continue to win awards and accolades from around the world. There is a deep sense of satisfaction for me and for all those who work for the Oberoi Group that we serve travellers who appreciate the quality of comfort and service we provide; this encourages us to raise the bar to even higher levels,” said Oberoi, adding that a reader poll by international magazine Travel + Leisure has named two Oberoi Hotels, the Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur and the Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur, among the top ten in the world.