The gateway to the northeast and the largest urban hub in north Bengal, Siliguri is all set to get as many as 20 new hotels, including five-star ones, over the next few years, representatives of the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA) said here on Monday.

“Today (Monday), we held a meeting with representatives of some of the reputed trade bodies and associations of realtors. In the course of the meeting, they told us that as many as 20 reputable hotel groups are setting up hotels in and around Siliguri. Altogether, an investment of ₹10,000 crore will be made in phases for these hotels, which will generate hundreds of jobs,” said SJDA chairman Dilip Dugar.

Headquartered in Siliguri, the SJDA is a development agency under the state urban development and municipal affairs department.

Representatives of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (Credai) were present at the meeting.

Dugar, who assumed his office last month, said they are holding talks with trade bodies and merchant associations in and around Siliguri for planned and comprehensive infrastructural development.

“We are seeking their suggestions. In today’s meeting, we learned Siliguri is now a destination for weddings and other social events. Once the convention centre that has been planned by the state comes up, it will be a destination for MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions),” he added.

Dugar said they planned to seek help from IIT-Kharagpur to draft a development plan for the area under SJDA's jurisdiction.

In 1992, a development plan was drafted for the SJDA area, and again in 2002, another round of planning, named the land and development control plan, was prepared by the SJDA.

“It has been over two decades now since that plan was made. Siliguri has expanded, its adjoining rural areas have changed. That is why we want a new set of plans for future development in and around Siliguri,” said Dugar.

The SJDA, he said, wants to streamline the process of issuing the land use compatibility certificate needed for any construction in the SJDA area. “LUCC is issued in 15 to 20 days after an application is filed. We want to bring it down to 10 days. We are also updating our portal so that the certificate is issued online," Dugar said.