By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 14: After a wait of 36 years, Meghalaya got its first five-star hotel on Friday.
The Vivanta Meghalaya, which has a built-up area of around 8,800 sq. mtrs, was inaugurated by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma. The project was conceptualised in 1985.
The hotel has 101 rooms and other facilities, including a speciality restaurant, coffee shops, retail shops, bar and a banquet hall.
The project is owned by Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) and has been leased out for a period of 33 years on a public-private partnership mode. It will be operated by the Indian Hotel Company Limited (IHCL).
Sangma formally handed over the key of the hotel to the IHCL in the presence of Tourism Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar, Chief Secretary DP Wahlang and MTDC chairman Saleng A Sangma. The hotel will soon be open for guests.
Speaking on the occasion, the CM said the hotel has been delayed by more than 36 years. “The inauguration of this project is a symbolic message that if we are determined and focused, we can achieve a difficult target. The project, in a way shelved for many decades, is finally completed. The quality of work done is of international standards,” Sangma said.
He thanked SM Group, Vivanta Group, MTDC officials and IHCL.
He said the inauguration of the hotel is not the end of the story but the beginning of a longer and much bigger story of ensuring that Meghalaya starts to project itself as a high-end tourism destination.
“We need to put in place the right ecosystem to ensure that the goal for a high-end tourism destination becomes a reality. We need to have the right infrastructure, manpower, training, better connectivity and right hotels,” Sangma said.
He said tourism is not about hotel or nice destination or nice waterfalls.
“It is an entire ecosystem and entire process which is going to take place. You need the logistical support. You need the communication system to be there for transportation. You need the manpower to be able to serve. It is a full process of system which needs to be put in place,” the CM said.
He said the target is to make Meghalaya a high-end tourists’ destination. Shillong has only about 350 high-end rooms, he said.
“If you go to any part of the world, one hotel will have 2,000 high-end rooms. This means there is a huge gap between demand and supply,” Sangma said.
He also said that the Vivanta Meghalaya, along with the upcoming hotel Courtyard by Marriott, will give a huge boost to high-value tourism in the state.
“This model will be further replicated going forward to transform Meghalaya into the most preferred destination for high-end tourism,” he said.
He said the government is hopeful that hotel Courtyard by Marriott will be inaugurated before Christmas.
“We are hopeful that in the next few years, we are going to see many more such hotels which are in the pipeline. We are also hopeful about large investment from private players in the tourism sector in the near future,” Sangma said.
He said the MTDC is expected to get more than Rs 100 crore as revenue in the next 30 years as per the lease agreement with the IHCL. This money will be more or less to make MTDC financially stable, he said.
“On an average, we expect GST taxes will be over Rs 400 to 500 crore from this hotel alone in the next 30 years if above room occupancy is there. We have more than 100 jobs being created and 80-90% are local people who got the jobs,” the CM added.
It was in March 1987 when the construction had begun under M/S SA Builders. After it failed to complete the work in the stipulated time despite two extensions, the contract was terminated in 1989.
The contract with the next construction company, M/S Astra Constructions Private Limited, was also terminated in 1996 – three years after it was allotted the work – for not completing the work on time.
The MTDC signed an agreement with M/S Lessly Shylla for the development of the hotel on a BOLT (Build Operate Lease Transfer) agreement in 2008 for Rs 98.9 crore to be paid in 33 years.
However, the company delayed in making the building functional even after five extensions and a showcause notice was issued in July 2016. After the arbitration process, the party formed a Special Purpose Vehicle with Aura Hotels & Resorts Pvt Ltd and the latter signed an agreement with Taj Vivanta in 2019 to run and manage the hotel.