The Hindu Business Line : Royal Indian ties up with Choice Hotels

JOINING HANDS: (From right) Mr Vilas Pawar, CEO, Choice Hospitality India Ltd; Mr Collins Benjamin, President, Royal Indian Raj International Corporation; Mr Manoj C. Benjamin, Chairman & CEO, RIRIC; and Mr Kenneth M. Corey, Vice-President-Marketing, RIRIC; at a press conference in the Capital on Thursday. - Kamal Narang

New Delhi April 12 Canada-based Royal Indian Raj International Corporation (RIRIC) plans to invest $6 billion to $10 billion in India in the next seven years for development of townships, resorts and hotels.

"We will invest $6-10 billion to develop city townships, resorts and hotels in India," said Mr Manoj C. Benjamin, Chief Executive Officer, RIRIC.

The shortage of hotel rooms and housing has prompted the company to invest in the country, said Mr Benjamin.

The projects would be funded through both institutional investors and private equity, he said.

The company has commenced work on some of the projects.

``We have acquired a 3,000-acre land in Bangalore and contracted a 4,000-acre land in Mumbai for some of these projects,'' he said.

The company also announced on Thursday its partnership with Choice Hotels India to set up 15,000 rooms in about 100 hotels that would account for $4 billion (around Rs 17,000 crore) out of the total investment planned by RIRIC in India.

The hotels would be constructed in the next 5-7 years in the 2-4 star categories.

Under the arrangement, Choice Hotel India would develop the brand and market the hotels, while RIRIC would make the investment.

In the first phase, the hotels would be set up in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Goa and Pune. Later, properties would come up in tier-II towns like Amritsar, Kochi, Kanpur and Nagpur.

The hotels would be set up under the brands `Comfort', `Sleep Inn', `Clarion' and `Quality', with a room tariff ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000 per night.

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