MBD Group sells Kolkata Airport Hotel to Noida firm

ITS Official. The MBD Group has sold off Airport Hotel here to Noida-based Dharampal Satyapal (DS) Group for an undisclosed sum.
The Rs. 1,200 crore DS Group, which has interests in food and beverages, is planning to construct a budget hotel, a five-star hotel and a snazzy convention center on the 7.5 acre premises. The plan is currently awaiting clearance from the government. DS Group is likely to make an announcement on this next month.
The MBD Group, which has expertise in the publishing business, had acquired the four-star deluxe hotel located close to the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose airport from India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) for Rs. 20.15 crore in 2002 following its divestment. It closed down the hotel in 2004 citing renovation work, after all its 281 employees agreed to accept the voluntary retirement scheme.
Sources point out that MBD had been struggling to run the hotel right from the beginning mainly because of its inexperience in the hotel business. MBD officials were unavailable for comment but according to market estimates, the land alone would have fetched the company Rs. 50 crore. “The assets would have cost them another Rs. 50 crore. “The assets would have cost them another Rs. 50 crore,” said a valuation expert.
When contacted, DS Group Vice President, (Corporate Communication) Bhavna Sood confirmed the development but refused to disclose the sum it paid for the hotel. “We have huge plans for the Kolkata property but things are still at a planning stage. We will make an announcement only after getting the clearance,” Sood said. The DS Group has recently made a foray into the hospitality segment with its newly set up arm DS Hotels Ltd. And has projects lined up in Jaipur, Udaipur Shimla, Manali and Goa.