EIH chairman P.R.S. Oberoi (right) with managing director S. S. Mukherjee in Calcutta on Friday. Picture by Kishor Roy Chowdhury

Calcutta, July 28: EIH, the flagship company of the Oberoi Group, today announced 12 new projects in India and abroad.

The company will invest between Rs 1,100 crore and Rs 1,150 crore in its own properties in Bangalore, Goa, Trident Mumbai and Rajgarh Palace in Madhya Pradesh. The other eight projects include only management contracts or equity participation or both.

The foreign locales the company is keen on are Dubai, Maldives and Cambodia.

The funding for the projects would be done through a mix of debt and equity and the ratio would depend on an individual project.

?We would have a minority stake in the Oberoi brand luxury hotels to be set up in Maldives, Siem Reap (Angkor Vat), Cambodia, the service apartments at Hitech City, Hyderabad, and the luxury train project. However, the company will not have any stake in the new Nile Cruiser, the luxury Oberoi property in Gurgaon, and the Dubai hotel,? said P.R.S. Oberoi, chairman and chief executive of EIH.

Domestic plan

The 437-key company-owned Trident Hilton in the Bandra-Kurla complex is expected to open its doors to guests in 2008. In Goa, the Oberoi hotel would be located on a 50-acre beachfront site owned by the company. The 225-key Bangalore hotel would be built on an eight-acre site overlooking the Hebbel Lake. The Rajgarh Palace in Madhya Pradesh, spread over 60 acres, will be converted into a luxury hotel.

The construction of a 150-key Oberoi hotel next to the Trident Hilton, Gurgaon, will start soon, while the Uppal group will set up the 130-key Oberoi hotel and 40 service apartments near Manesar, Gurgaon. EIH will help run the two properties. The Hyderabad property would be a combination of the 250-key Trident Hilton and 50 service apartments at the Hitech City.

Overseas target

The company has signed an agreement with Rani International of the Aujan Group for the 250-key, $100-million Oberoi hotel and 40 service apartments in Dubai to be located at Business Bay near Burj Dubai, which is expected to be ready by early 2009. EIH will invest $5 million, just over 25.5 per cent, in the Maldives property. For the Cambodia property, the investment would be around $2 million. The company is also actively exploring the Chinese market.

Frozen food

EIH has commissioned a study to analyse the business potential of the ready-to-eat frozen food sector.

Income rises

EIH?s total income has increased 31 per cent in the first quarter to Rs 203.35 crore from Rs 155.67 crore in the year-ago period. Net profit rose to Rs 24.6 crore from Rs 17.06 crore.