“The 6-acre property will have 480 rooms of the flagship Hilton brand, besides 120 serviced apartments,” said Vivek Bali, the general manager (marketing) of DLF Hotel Holdings Ltd. The Rs 500-crore upscale hospitality halt will also have a luxury retail wing and is expected to be completed in 30 months from ground-breaking.

DLF is also looking at a mid-rung Hilton Garden Inn, targeting the younger business traveller, besides a 600,000-sq ft business hotel on the Grand Mall campus in Rajarhat.

The Rs 130-crore mall, with a four-screen multiplex by the group-owned DT Cinemas, is expected to be ready by 2009-end. The mall, spread across 368,000 sq ft, will have a product-mix of apparel, accessories and gifts, kids’ wear, women’s wear, men’s wear, electronics, fitness, footwear, entertainment, food court and restaurant.

“We recognise some very positive changes taking place in Bengal and the government is focused on economic growth. We want to partner the state in that growth,” said Rajeev Talwar, the group executive director.

The Dankuni township, for which DLF coughed up Rs 56 lakh per acre, has been conceptualised as a “walk-to-work” module. The group has shortlisted two US town-planner firms to provide three concept design solutions each in the next two months.

“We will freeze a design by this year-end and should break ground by the middle of next year. Dankuni will be one of the most modern townships in the country, complete with housing in all income segments, hotels, hospitals, schools, colleges, lakes, malls and lots of landscaped greenery,” promised Minocha.