Thaindian News

New Delhi, April 1 (IANS) Real estate major Emaar MGF (EMGF) has tied up with global hospitality giant Marriott International to develop its Luxury brand hotels JW Marriott in India. The deal was signed in Mumbai Tuesday. EMGF will develop Marriott hotels in New Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and an upper-moderate price-sector Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Amritsar, entailing investments of over $400 million. The projects are likely to be completed by 2010.

As part of the agreement, EMGF will be the owner and developer of the proposed hotels and Marriott will provide advisory and management services for the planning, design, construction and operations.

Shravan Gupta, executive vice-chairman and managing director of EMGF, said: “For us, this partnership is a step forward in our ambitious hospitality plans, as we consistently endeavour to bring global service standards and service excellence in the Indian hospitality business.”

Ed Fuller, president and managing director of Marriott, said: “Marriott International have the broadest portfolio of lodging brands, all of which enjoy high customer preference and acceptance. We look forward to working with Emaar MGF to help bring the three JW Marriott-branded hotels and one Courtyard by Marriott hotel to fruition.”

EMGF, a joint venture (JV) between Dubai-based Emaar and Delhi-based MGF, has recently announced a JV with Premier Inn, a unit of the British hotel major Whitbread, to invest Rs.24 billion ($600 million) for developing hotels.

Emaar has also tied up with another hotel company, Accor, to bring 100 Formula-1 hotels across India with an investment of Rs.12 billion.

The US-based Marriott International currently operates six hotels in India with 1,528 rooms; another 19 are expected to open now through 2011, including the potential hotels announced Tuesday taking its total tally to 25 with a total of more than 4,500 rooms.