Indian American business
tycoon Sant Singh Chatwal plans to invest Rs.45 billion in India
by 2009 for setting up a chain of hotels, which will also include
a seven-start hotel.
These hotels will have a
convention centre with a capacity for 2,000-3,000 people. Talking
about his plans, he said, India is making progress in the hospitality
sector and that he would like to explore the potential here.
His group is doing the master
planning for phase-I, which includes high-end seven -star hotels
in major cities like Delhi, Noida, Mumbai and Bangalore and dream
hotels in Kochi, Hyderabad and Chennai, he added to the same.
Sant Chatwal is the president
and CEO of Hampshire Hotels and Resorts (HHR) and he also owns
hotels in the US, Europe and Thailand. His group operates properties
in Manhattan with a total of 2,500 rooms and also plans to open
a five-star hotel in Times Square.
Chatwal is a former Indian
Air Force pilot who migrated to the US in 1980s and started his
business with the Bombay Palace chain of restaurants. He is a
trustee of former US President Bill Clinton's William Clinton
Foundation that focuses on global issues of health, security,
economic empowerment (HIV/AIDS initiative). Last year, Chatwal
hogged the limelight for hosting an extravagant wedding in India
for his son Vikram, which saw famous personalities from across
the globe attending the wedding. The grand wedding functions continued
for a week in three Indian cities.
