The five-to-seven-year expansion will take the partners’ West Bengal portfolio from 11 properties to 20, with projects spanning Kolkata, the coast and North Bengal.
Ambuja Neotia Group and Indian Hotels Company Ltd will invest about Rs 2,700 crore to Rs 3,000 crore in nine hospitality projects across West Bengal over the next five to seven years, deepening a partnership that is already one of the state’s largest hotel development pipelines. The plan covers Kolkata, Raichak, Digha, Siliguri, Lataguri, Kalimpong and Darjeeling, as the two companies look to expand a portfolio that is set to grow from 11 properties in the state to 20 once the new projects are completed.
The announcement came as Harshavardhan Neotia, chairman of Ambuja Neotia Group, and Puneet Chhatwal, managing director and chief executive of IHCL, unveiled AltAir House under the SeleQtions brand in Kolkata and Siliguri. IHCL’s own hotel pages describe AltAir House, Kolkata, as a 42-room boutique property in New Town, while AltAir House, Siliguri, is presented as a 60-room hotel in a garden setting. The new openings give the partnership an immediate on-the-ground presence even before the larger development plan begins to roll out.
The investment package also includes a Rs 100 crore expansion of Taj Chia Kutir Resort & Spa in Darjeeling, which will add 28 keys and 15,000 square feet of banqueting space. Among the larger projects are Taj Ananta Kutir and Taj Uvanta Signature Residences in Kolkata, with 248 keys and 354 apartments; Taj Himya Kutir and Taj Himya branded villas in Ghoom, Darjeeling, with 57 keys and 10 villas; and Taj Terai Kutir in Siliguri, with 140 keys. Other destinations in the pipeline include the coastal and riverfront markets of Raichak and Digha, as well as the forest and tea belt of North Bengal.
Neotia said West Bengal’s range of cities, rivers, forests, tea gardens and Himalayan landscapes made it a strong tourism destination, and said the investment reflected confidence in the market’s long-term potential. He added that the hospitality commitment sits within a broader plan for the group to invest roughly Rs 15,000 crore in hospitality, healthcare and real estate over five to seven years. Chhatwal, meanwhile, said tourism and hospitality generate substantial indirect employment, pointing to the sector’s wider impact on services, incomes and tax revenue. The comments echo broader industry arguments that hotel projects can support local economies well beyond the properties themselves.
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