New York-based Hampshire Hotels and Resorts, owned by Non-Resident Indian Sant Chatwal, has proposed to invest Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion) to build hotels across India in a span of four years.
"We would pump in Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion) in Indian hospitality sector during the next four years for building up a new chain of hotels," Hampshire Hotels and Resorts chairman and CEO Sant Chatwal told reporters in Chandigarh on Saturday.
Out of the total investment, a sum of Rs 1,000-2,000 crore (Rs 10-20 billion) has been earmarked by the company for setting up hotel in Punjab, he further said.
Chatwal was in Chandigarh to attend an NRI Conclave organised by Punjab government.
Major portion of the proposed investment would be dedicated for building new hotels in the southern part of India. "We would set up new hotels under the brand of Hampshire Plaza and Dreams Hotels in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu," he said.
"Out of these hotel projects, one hotel at Hyderabad is being set up at an investment of Rs 125 crore (Rs 1.25 billion) and another hotel is also being constructed in Kochi with an outlay of Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion)," he said.
On his investment plans in Punjab, Chatwal, who hails from Faridkot district of the state, said: "I have proposed to the Punjab government to convert the Gobindgarh Fort in Amritsar to a seven-star heritage hotel-cum-museum, which would showcase the history of the Punjabi culture and tradition."
When asked about the response of the state government, he said that state had shown keen interest in his proposal. But he further cautioned, "If things do not materialise here, then my investment would flow to other states of the country."
