The airport hotel in its former glory. After a decade’s shutdown, it is set for a five-star makeover, with add-ons. A Telegraph picture

The city airport will finally have a five-star hotel worth its name, with a host of add-ons, ranging from a shopping mall to a multiplex.

Airport Ashok, the ex-ITDC property off Dum Dum airport that has been idling for close to a decade, is set for a Rs 300-crore composite makeover. The post-revamp unveil has been scheduled for Christmas 2010.

The Delhi-based Dharampal Satyapal (DS) Group, which has purchased the property from the MBD Group, plans to house in a new structure a 250-keys five-star hotel, a 100-room budget hotel, a 44,000-sq-ft convention centre and a 300,000-sq-ft retail mall.

“Work will start soon and we are looking at the end of 2010 to throw open the property to Calcuttans and transit passengers,” Rajiv Kumar, the vice-chairman and managing director of the DS Group, tells Metro.

Earlier, the MBD Group had signed in architect Hafeez Contractor to redesign the Hotel MBD Airport after the ITDC-run hotel was put on the block as part of the government’s disinvestment drive. But the project failed to take off and the property eventually changed hands.

The Rs 1,200-crore-turnover DS Group is scouting for partners for its twin airport hotels. “We are in talks with international chains and hope to firm up our partner in a month. What we know at this point is there will be four restaurants and bars to cater to in-house guests as well as airport transit passengers,” says Kumar.

The budget hotel, sitting on top of the property, could offer “few-hours” check-in options for passengers waiting for connecting flights.

The convention centre will offer “state-of-the-art” facilities and “high-speed” connectivity for business travellers.

The airlines are excited. “By 2010, we expect our traffic to grow four-fold and we will probably fly to Asean countries by then. The airport hotels can make life a lot easier for our transit passengers. Besides, for people having to catch early-morning flights, staying the night over at the budget hotel makes sense,” says a SpiceJet spokesperson.

The ground and the first three levels will house a shopping mall storing “luxury” brands.

“We have already signed in Fame for a four-screen multiplex, including a Gold Class screen. We will finalise the anchor tenant soon, and are in dialogue with Shoppers’ Stop, Lifestyle Westside and even Debenhams,” says Kalyan Ghosh, head-retail, NAI NK Realtors, handling the retail component.

The two-level basement will provide parking for 1,100 cars, with 300 slots dedicated to the mall. The anchor will take up 36,000 sq ft across three levels and the mall will have a mix of vanilla brands.

“There will be F&B options as well, and we are talking to Mainland China, Costa Coffee and also McDonald’s,” adds Ghosh.