The Orchid Hotel, owned by the public Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), will be transformed into a luxury 130-room hotel under the public-private partnership (PPP) model with the Delhi-based private firm Lemon Tree Hotels.
The foundation stone for the redevelopment project was unveiled today by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma in the presence of Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh and other dignitaries.
The renovated hotel will be under the Lemon Tree Hotels’ Aurika brand. The company has more than 100 properties in its portfolio.
Expressing his delight in the project, Sangma said that Lemon Tree will invest Rs 124 crore in the redevelopment. “This will be a luxury five-star hotel with 130 rooms … with facilities like banquet halls and other amenities”.
MTDC will be paid Rs 5 crore by Lemon Tree upfront, with another Rs 2.5 crore per year as lease rental, a press release informed, though how long the lease period is was not mentioned. Work to transform the 1.5 acre site will take an estimated three years.
Lyngdoh said that this project proves that the state government dares to make a difference that will impact generations to come. Tourism, he said, employs 50,000 people directly in the state and this will increase by 60 per cent at least in the next three to four years.
