Lalit Suri hotel group plans $500-mn expansion

Premium hotel chain, the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, is investing Rs 2,200 crore (about $500 million) towards expansion, with plans to actively participate in public-private-partnership tourism projects.

Premium hotel chain, the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, is investing Rs 2,200 crore (about $500 million) towards expansion, with plans to actively participate in public-private-partnership tourism projects.

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The group, operating luxury hotels under the brand name The Lalit, will invest Rs 1,200 crore on expanding properties in the the premium segment, chairperson and managing director Jyotsna Suri disclosed.

The group will fund the expansion through a mix of internal accruals and debt.

“We are coming up with hotels in Kolkata, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Noida, Amritsar and Dehradun over the next two years. The properties in Chandigarh and Jaipur are almost ready and will be operational by early next year," Suri said.

The group plans to double the number of rooms in the luxury segment to 3,600 by 2012, she said. It is also looking at opportunities in the mid-segment.

“By 2013, we plan to have an inventory of 1,400 rooms in ... cities like Ludhiana and Surat. Each of these hotels will have 50-75 rooms," Suri said.

At present, brand The Lalit has eight properties in India.