LE MERIDIEN PLANS HOTEL, PC CHANDRA SEEKS TIE-UP 

Calcutta, Aug. 24 :     It's all happening in the world of luxury hotels here. The Park is pitching for one. The Taj is planning to pull out of another. Now, enter, Le Meridien. Forte Hotel group of UK, owners of the Le Meridien label, has approached the state government to set up a hotel in the city. State tourism minister Manab Mukherjee told The Telegraph: 'Forte Hotel has written to us that they are keen on setting up a hotel in the state. We have asked them to submit their proposal to us, which we expect to receive soon.' Chandras Green Project Limited, a company owned by jewellers P. C. Chandra, has come forward to be a partner in Forte's hotel venture. 'The state tourism minister informed us that the Forte group is keen on setting up a hotel in the city. Since we want to enter the hotel business in a big way too, the minister advised us to have a talk with the Forte group. We have already written to Forte, asking them about their plans,' said a senior official of Chandras Green Projects Limited. The minister said the government can provide land to the Forte group on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass. However, sources acquainted with the project plan said Forte might not want to open another hotel on the Bypass, because two five-star hotels - Sonar Bangla of the ITC Welcomgroup and Hyatt Regency - are already coming up there. The Chandras are running a small hotel on CIT Road near Moulali. They are also setting up a 60-room hotel at 15, Camac Street. 'We have not yet classified the category of the proposed hotel. We will apply for such a categorisation once the hotel is complete,' the official added. They have also acquired land on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass to set up a resort. The Forte Hotel group runs 406 hotels worldwide. Apart from the five-star brand Le Meridien, the group owns two, three and four-star brands like Porthouse, Heritage and Travel Lodge. In India, the hotel chain has roped in different franchisees to use the Le Meridien label.