Punjab: More investment in hospitality
Sukhbir Singh Badal, the Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab speaks about the recent strategies to boost the state’s connectivity and tourism development in what lies ahead.
To boost the tourism and hospitality development in Punjab, the state is now inviting investments from private players in the hotel sector. According to Sukhbir Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, the state will be the next big destination for investment and tourism will be a major focus area. Badal, who was speaking at the Hotel Investment Forum India (HIFI) 2013 in Delhi, also revealed that the state is coming up with an attractive policy this month for the hotel industry. Assuring easy clearances for upcoming hotel projects in the north Indian state, Badal revealed, “We will offer single window clearance for new hotel projects. Punjab is also speaking with some hoteliers and investors to transform some of the forts in the state into hotels. We have some wonderful forts in Punjab and transforming them into hotels would be a good idea to promote tourism and preserve heritage.”
Aiming to boost connectivity, the state will unveil the Mohali airport. “We are also developing an international airport in Machhiwara. We have domestic airports in Pathankot and Ludhiana apart from the international airport in Amritsar. The domestic airport in Bathinda is also almost ready,” he pointed out. A network of four- or six-lane expressways across the state, funded by an investment of ` 76 billion (US$1.39 billion), is due to be ready in the next three years while the ` 75 billion Ludhiana metro project is expected to be completed in five years.
As a part of ramping up infrastructure, the state is also looking at integrated tourism circuits. The state is in advanced stages of developing a 4,400 acres entertainment circuit in Ludhiana that would include hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, sports arenas, adventure sports areas for horse racing, safaris, etc. The proj- ect will start by the end of 2013 and is likely to be completed by 2018. Punjab is also going to encourage investments in theme parks and is looking for private players to take over the entire project or in parts, Badal added.
Eyeing big conferences in the years to come, the state is in the process of setting up two convention centres, 100 acres each with the capacity ranging between 4,0005,000 pax each at Mohali and Amritsar.
Ranjit Sagar Dam will be developed as a new high- end tourism destination with watersports facilities and a 32 sq km lake as attraction while the island sites would be made available for hotel and resort development.
The state is in advanced stages of developing a 4,400 acre entertainment circuit in Ludhiana