[Assam] Assam basks in 5-star warmth - Telegraph

[Ram Sarangapani]

A welcome move!

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 *Issue Date:* Wednesday, October 24, 2007
  Assam basks in 5-star warmth
 A STAFF REPORTER

*Guwahati, Oct. 23:* The Tarun Gogoi government today indicated it would
gladly make a few concessions for the Tatas to build a five-star hotel in
the Assam capital.

A meeting convened by Gogoi to discuss the nitty-gritty of the proposal by
the Tata-owned Indian Hotels Company ended with the government showing more
than a passing interest in expanding the city's presence in the hospitality
industry.

Sources in the chief minister's office said the company would like to build
the hotel on a Kahilipara plot belonging to the veterinary department. If it
gets that plot, the project will be completed in two years.

Tourism minister Rockybul Hussain, veterinary minister Khorsingh Ingti,
principal secretary (revenue) V.K. Pripersania, principal secretary
(tourism) H.K. Das, Kamrup (metropolitan) deputy commissioner Avinash Joshi
and the principal secretary to the chief minister, T.Y. Das, attended the
meeting.

Sources said the meeting reviewed the feasibility of the proposal before
discussing the road ahead.

One of the participants in the meeting suggested that the veterinary
department enter into a joint-venture agreement with the company or hand
over the land to the tourism department, which has been exploring ways to
upgrade the hospitality sector to woo high-end tourists. "The discussions
were fruitful, though nothing was finalised about handing the land to the
company. We believe the proposed project is on the right track," a source
said.

Infosys's chief mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy said during a visit to the city
on August 4 that he would like to see "good air connectivity, a good
five-star hotel, excellent bandwidth and good (use of) English" before his
company begins operations in the state.

If the Tata deal comes through, it will be the second investment from
outside the state in a hotel after the one being constructed by the DS Group
in Gotanagar. The Taj Group, also owned by the Tatas, is already building a
hotel at Six Mile under its Ginger brand.

Gogoi met Ratan Tata in Mumbai during one of his visits this year to hunt
for investment. The need for high-end hotels was also raised during the
investment summit in Bangkok last month.
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