The chief minister of Assam, Tarun Gogoi today laid the foundation stone of the first five star hotel in the state – Vivatna by Taj, in the presence of top industry captains including Ratan Tata, the chairman of Tata Sons.
The lavish project in Guwahati will be completed and commissioned within two years and with a budget of Rs.90 cr. The premium hotel project will be located on 4.5 acres along the Guwahati-Shillong road (Khanapra). The company has been allotted the land on a long-term lease. The hotel design will be inspired by local architecture and will comprise of 150 rooms and suites. The hotel will have all the usual five-star facilities like a day-long dining restaurant, a specialty restaurant and a bar, but also recreational facilities like an expensive spa and fitness centre.
In 2006 Narayan Murthi, of Infosys, refused to invest in the state in the absence of any big hotel to host its guests. Gogoi said that since then he was “looking” for a five-star hotel in Assam. He said he then got in touch with Ratan Tata and impressed upon him to set up a five-star hotel in the city.
The State of Assam
On being asked why Guwahati, Mr. Tata said, “Why are we here? We are here because we have been drawn to the opportunities and the potentials of the state…This is a new Assam here and most of us are committed to be here…Guwahati is changed and it’s full of evidence of great development which I do not recall when I was here last“. He also said that the hotel would not only be the destination for business clientele, but it would also attract tourists.
Thus Taj marks a big start for hotel industry in the north eastern part of the country.
