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ITDC's Agra property receives solitary bid

Parul Gupta

India Tourism Development Corporation's Agra hotel managed to attract just one bidder when it came up for divestment on Wednesday.

The Agra property was the fifth ITDC property to be put on the block. So far, only one ITDC property--Madurai--has received two bids. While Agra, Mamallapuram and Bodhgaya have received one bid each, Manali did not receive even a single bid.

However, Ashish Guha, managing director of Lazard India, which along with CB Richard Ellis, is advising the government on the divestment, said the response was as per expectations. "The response is not very bad. I am satisfied with it," he said.

The 26 ITDC properties up for sale have been spun off as separate companies, mirroring the shareholding of the parent- 90 per cent with the government and 10 per cent with Tata-promoted Indian Hotels Company Ltd. As ITDC had reported losses last year, most of these properties are also known to be in the red.

The lack of interest in the Mamallapuram property, government sources said, is because of the demolition notice served on it for a part of the construction undertaken in 1996-97. This construction was done in the coastal regulatory zone, which is against norms.

ITDC officials, however said, a dispensation was sought on the issue and a verdict is expected anytime now.

The lack of interest in the Manali hotel is attributed to the fact that Manali has only a 90-day tourist season, and the place does not make much business sense. Also, Manali has a large number of hotels and guest houses, which are available for sale.

"It therefore does not make much sense for someone to bid for the ITDC property. They would opt for a private property since it would save him a lot of bureaucratic hassles," government sources said.

The single bid for the Bodhgaya property came as a surprise as the area is being developed as a Buddhist circuit and has visitors from Japan. In fact, the Federation for Preservation of Mahayana Tradition has plans to construct the largest Buddha statue in the world here and there is also a proposal for an international airport at Bodhgaya.

The Japanese Bank for International Cooperation is likely to fund the development of the circuit and therefore it holds a lot of tourist potential.

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