TCGL hits Rs 23-cr realty jackpot

Swati Bharadwaj-Chand & Nimish Shukla / TNN / Oct 5, 2007, 01:26 IST

Share

AA

Text Size

Small
Medium
Large

After defunct textile mills, it’s now the turn of the ailing Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd to strike a goldmine in realty.

AHMEDABAD: After defunct textile mills, it’s now the turn of the ailing Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL) to strike a goldmine in realty.
TCGL has hit paydirt, with a 9,140 sq m (10,935 square yards) plot of prime land at Sola on SG Highway, opposite Gujarat High Court. The deal fetched the corporation a Rs 22.87 crore bonanza (nearly Rs 21,000 per square yard) in a recent auction, sources said.
Earmarked for hotel development, the plot was bagged by US-based Pacifica group, which is setting up ‘Courtyard’ by Mariott hotel on Satellite Road.They beat strong contenders like the Bhagwati group of hotels and Sanjay Gupta’s Cambay group.
According to sources, this plot has raked in nearly half the Rs 50 crore target that TCGL set itself from the sale of six built properties and nine parcels of land across the state through the global bidding route.

Interestingly, the deal surprised even TCGL officials, who had initially pegged a price tag of a paltry Rs 2.5 crore for the plot. However, TCGL officials refused to comment on the deal.
In April this year, TCGL announced sale of prime properties across Gujarat to promote tourism through private participation and had appointed an empowered committee headed by the additional chief secretary (finance) to handle the disinvestment.

These include land assets in Radhanpur, Jagna in Banaskantha, Bamanpor and Sayala in Surendranagar, Katapar in Bhavnagar, Hansalpur in Viramgam and large tracts in Shamkhiyanai and Vallabhipur.
The properties on the block will not carry any liability for the buyers. They will be under no obligation to keep on the staff.
But despite these attractive offers, most of TCGL’s properties are going abegging. The authorities may now extend the date of sale of these properties beyond December 31, 2007.
Incidentally, even as it is pulling out of hotels, TCGL is gearing up to revive another loss-making venture — Royal Orient Express — at a cost of nearly Rs 33 crore, jointly with the Centre and the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation.
swati.bharadwaj@timesgroup.com
nimish.shukla@timesgroup.com

End of Article

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA