It's pouring 5-star hotels in Kerala

The Economic Times dt..27.06.2008
PK Krishnakumar KOCHI

WITH MANY big-ticket projects underway, there seems to be a five-star hotel boom in Kerala, particularly in Kochi. Projects like SmartCity, ICTT at Vallarpadam, Petronet LNG terminal and Vizhinjam container terminal which is slated to come up in the state have increased the opportunities for more hotel outlets. A slew of five-star hotels by various groups are being planned or are in various stages of construction. Most of the hotel projects are being planned in Kochi, the commercial capital of the state. Interestingly, it is mainly the business groups in the Gulf which are setting up these hotel projects. The Rs 500-crore Holiday Group with diverse business interests in UAE is the latest to join the bandwagon. The group is planning not one, but five five-star luxury hotels in Kerala. Group chairman CC Thampi told ET that the first one at Bekkal in Kasargod would become operational by 2009. With the Centre having given in-principle nod for an airport at Kannur, Bekkal could become a busy tourist hot spot. The next in line for the group is Kumarakom where it has completed the land acquisition procedures. Other hotels are expected to come up probably near the Cochin Airport at Nedumbassery, Kovalam and Thiruvananthapuram. The construction of the Rs 220-crore five-star deluxe hotel of the Kuwait-based KGA group is under construction in Kochi. The hotel with 210 rooms will be managed by Crowne Plaza of Intercontinental Group. Leading furniture brand Indroyal has also tied up with Intercontinental Group for a Rs 100-crore hotel project in Kochi. The hotel, to be known under the brand ‘Holiday Inn’, will have 253 rooms and 30 luxury suites. Indroyal group chairman Sugathan claims hopes that this hotel will be the tallest in South India with 22 storeys. The UAE-based EMKE group has zeroed in on Kochi to start its popular Lulu hypermarket along with a convention centre and a fivestar hotel. The project is in the construction stage. The group already has started a state-of-the-art convention centre in Thrissur. The other big hotel projects in the pipeline are by Ramda, Mini Muthoot through a tieup with Four Seasons, Amrapali Builders and Shobha group. Of these, except Mini Muthoot, which is setting up the hotel at Cherthala, the others have plans to construct the hotels in Kochi.