By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: With State’s first five star hotel all set to become functional by mid-2014, tourism in Meghalaya could receive a shot in the arm.
Private firm HM Cements which is implementing the project has tied up with the famous Marriott group of hotels, USA to construct the five star hotel in the capital city.
The presence of a brand like Marriott could further help the city to make itself visible in the world tourist map and observers believe that a five star hotel would open a vista for a new set of tourists who can eventually play a significant role in benefiting the tourism infrastructure in the State.
The work for the construction of the hotel is going on in full swing at the old premises of Shillong Municipal Board in Jail Road and sources said that the project will be completed by the middle of 2014 despite the litigation cases.
“The structure is almost complete and work is going on for the interiors of the building,” sources said here.
The upcoming hotel which is being constructed at 72,000 square feet area will have around 200 rooms with state of the art facilities.
Under the project 30,000 square feet of land has also been reserved for the office of the Shillong Municipal Board, and the total estimated budget of the project is around Rs 100 crore.
The five star hotel in the city is expected to cater largely to the shortage of accommodation when hundreds of tourists visit the State, especially during peak seasons.
The much awaited project had hit a major stumbling block after some of the residents in the premises moved the court to save their shops from being demolished.
However, the implementing agency is now working on a plan to further expand the roads of Jail Road locality and thereby relocate the shops with all the facilities.
Official sources said they are fully concentrating on the work at hand and the legal tangle is between the land owners and the State Government.
“Our focus is on the job at hand and we are confident of completing within the scheduled time,” official sources said.