The Hindu Business Line : Coalition of hotels to be owners — The Captain's new creation is a convention centre

CAPT. Krishnan Nair is busy with his next creation. This time it is not a hotel. Having promoted, or rather created, as he likes to say, three five-star hotels under the Leela brand, the captain of the Leela chain of hotels is now working on a different project - an international exhibition-cum-convention centre in Mumbai.

"This is my dream project. I want to ensure that it will be one of the best in the world. Mumbai, the commercial capital of the country, does not have a world-class exhibition centre. This is a major handicap for the industry and business," Capt. Nair told Business Line.

The convention centre will be set up on an 18-acre land near the Sahar international airport.

Estimated to cost about Rs 250 crore and 18 months to build, the centre would be owned by a coalition of hotels, said Capt. Nair.

The group includes big names in the hospitality industry such as the Taj, Hyatt and ITC.

Capt. Nair said while the International Airport Authority of India has agreed, in principle, to lease out land, banks are keen to fund the project because of its economic potential.

Since the Maharashtra Government is supporting the idea, it would also be easy to get various approvals.

A special purpose company - Mumbai International Convention Centre (MICC) - has already been incorporated with equity participation from other hotels to implement the project.

With more than 4,000 hotel rooms now available around Sahar airport, the convention centre will become an ideal venue for international trade fairs and such other events. It will also bring more business to hotels, he said.

Capt. Nair is in high spirits as his hotels are doing well, particularly the Leela Palace in Bangalore, which has been enjoying one hundred per cent occupancy for almost a year now.

The hotel has received the monthly highest RevPar (revenue per available room) rating among hotels in India from the rating agency Crisil for the past several moths.

The average rate per room has been Rs 9,000-Rs 10,000 per day. Leela Goa, another luxury property of the group, is also doing well.

Leela Mumbai, the group's first hotel, is currently undergoing a renovation, adding more taste and colour to the restaurants.

Despite growing competition, the hotel has been able to maintain its occupancy rate.

More Stories on : New Projects | Hotels | Maharashtra

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Deepak Chaudhuri to succeed Shamsuddin as SWC President

USFDA inspects Neuland Labs facility

S. Roy Choudhary is HPCL's new Director-Marketing

Sundram Fasteners' bid for SN Corp gets panel approval

ACC in talks with Japanese co for consultancy assignment

Coalition of hotels to be owners — The Captain's new creation is a convention centre

Bannari to foray into refined sugar production

BusinessObjects, in pact with Wipro Infotech

Trayons revival still in a limbo

Casio India eyes bigger share in digital cameras