Calcutta, April 1: Two foreign investors today promised to set Bengal on a faster track with proposals for a seven-star hotel and a two-wheeler manufacturing unit around the city.
International hotel chain Marriott International is looking to set up a seven-star hotel in the heart of Calcutta. Class R. Elze, senior vice-president of Marriott International, met chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee this evening along with American consul-general George Sibley and sought land for the project.
?The Marriott group wants five to eight acres in the city. The chief minister has promised to look into the proposal,? said Calcutta-born, Jakarta-based industrialist Prasun Mukherjee, who accompanied the teams to the chief minister at Writers? Buildings.
Marriott has five properties in India. The 371-room JW Marriott Hotel in Mumbai, the 308-room Hyderabad Marriott, the 153-room Goa Marriott Resort, the 286-room New Delhi Marriott and the 286-room Renaissance Mumbai Hotel represent the brand in India.
Government officials said though the chief minister was positive about the proposal, finding such a large plot in the heart of the city would be a challenge.
Representatives of Indonesia-based Salim Group?s automobile division also met Bhattacharjee to discuss plans for a two-wheeler manufacturing unit. The group, which has been exploring the motorcycle market in Bengal along with representatives of a Chinese company, Quinchin, had earlier inspected land in Haldia and Uluberia. Gunadi Kang, chairman of the group?s automobile division, said he had finished hunting for an appropriate site and would report his findings to Beni Santoso, who heads the Salim Group. Kang added that the site would be finalised in two months.
?They liked the site in Uluberia. Work on the project is expected to start later this year,? the chief minister said.
Salim Group, a growing conglomerate in Southeast Asia, is investing $350 million along with the Ciputra group to build a township in west Howrah. Christened Calcutta West International City, it will come up on 400 acres and will house over 6,000 houses, a commercial complex, health centres and entertainment zones.
