Oberois to invest Rs. 1,000 crore in Bangalore, Goa.

EIH Ltd. will invest Rs. 1,000 crore for mega twin projects in Bangalore and Goa. P R S Oberoi, executive chairman of EIH, told reporters after the annual general meeting that this is likely to be done through a combination of internal accrual and debt. 'The equity portion would be around Rs. 400 crore,' he added. EIH has own land in Goa and Bangalore.

According to Oberoi, there will be high-end housing complex and mall along with 250-room hotel. The Goa hotel will have 80 rooms. EIH will also set up 17 premium villas in Goa.

He reiterated that the group will concentrate on managing properties in order to remain asset-light. 'We shall only develop properties where we have land. Otherwise, we shall go for management contracts. We already have too many properties in our balancesheet,' he added. The chief executive officer and vice chairman of EIH, S S Mukherjee, said it would take four years to complete the Bangalore project while the Goa project would take two years.

Commenting on new properties overseas, Oberoi said China and Tailand would be two locations where the group would like to have presence. 'We started discussion with a partner in Thailand but due to political disturbance in Thailand, it could not materialize,' he added. Oberoi made it clear that EIH would look for management contract in both China and Thailand properties.


TIMES OF INDIA