Four companies, including one each from Singapore and London, are in the race for taking over management control of West Bengal government controlled Great Eastern Hotel, state Tourism Minister Dinesh Dakua said on Wednesday.
Dakua said those who had evinced interest were Bharat Hotels, Badshah Hotels, Manish Financial Corporation of London and Hotel Singapore (of Singapore). The last date for submission of bids is March 28, he said.
He said the bids were invited after a French company, Accord Asia Pacific, which had initially evinced interest for taking over the hotel, had informed the state government that it was no longer in the fray.
The minister, who was responding to an oral question from Left Front MLA Debprasad Sarkar in the state Assembly, said bids were invited from private parties and the government had received a total of 11 applications.
From the 11 initial applications, the government had shortlisted seven firms and had asked them to submit their bids, but so far only four have responded, Dakua said.
He said the private parties would be allowed to offer an attractive VRS package to the existing 500 employees.
The minister, while expressing inability to give the current accumulated loss figure, said the hotel had recorded a net loss of Rs 1.29 crore (Rs 13 million) in 1999-2000, Rs 2.10 crore (Rs 21 million) in 2000-01 and Rs 2.25 crore (Rs 22 million) in 2001-02 and the accounts for the year 2002-03 was not yet finalised.
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