Leading national hotel chains are set to infuse over ₹10,000 crore into Siliguri and north Bengal as a whole during the next few years, while the region has drawn around ₹4,000 crore in the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) sector in the past couple of years.
Dilip Dugar, the chairman of the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA), shared the data after a meeting with representatives of major trade bodies on Friday.
Dugar revealed that 20 leading hotel brands from across India were either in the process of establishing their properties in Siliguri or were set to begin construction shortly.
“As a part of the project rollout, ₹5,000 crore will be invested in the first phase, followed by a similar investment in the second phase,” he said.
“The hospitality boom is expected to significantly enhance Siliguri’s profile as the gateway to north Bengal and the Northeast, and would boost business tourism as well as leisure travel,” he added.
The SJDA chairman said many major hospital chains were preparing to set up large-scale healthcare facilities in the city.
“Many renowned healthcare institutions have already started work on their projects,” he said, while mentioning that Siliguri’s strategic location and growing population made it an ideal medical hub for the region.
According to him, in the past two years alone, north Bengal, including Siliguri, attracted more than ₹4,000 crore in investment proposals in the MSME sector.
Such investments are expected to create over 10,000 jobs, said a source.
The meeting, which was held in the SJDA office, was attended by representatives of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Siliguri Merchants Association, CREDAI, and the NB Tea Park Association. The meeting reviewed the progress of the ongoing projects.
“At the meeting, the SJDA chairman pointed out that at the NB Tea Park, which is near the New Jalpaiguri station, 117 plots were allotted to different companies. But none of the units which were supposed to come up on these plots are operational till now. He urged the stakeholders to expedite their projects,” the source said.
The SJDA functions under the state urban development and municipal affairs
department.