ITC eyes hospitality expansion

ITC Limited on Monday said that it planned to add 2,500 rooms to its hotel segment to take the total inventory to 12,000 in five years from 9,500 now, even as the diversified group mulls foraying into the healthcare space.

ITC Managing Director Sanjiv Puri said the company would invest Rs 2,500 crore in the next two to three years in Telangana, among others,to set up an integrated consumer goods manufacturing unit and logistics facility and for the capacity augmentation and efficiency of Bhadrachalam Paperboard.

He said that ITC appointed a committee internally to examine the possibility of foraying into the healthcare space. Once it submitted its report, the board would examine it and take a final call.

"Currently, we have four brands under ITC Hotels. Some are owned and some are managed. We currently have 107 hotels with 9,500 rooms. In the next five years, we can add another 24 properties, which are at various stages of construction, both owned and managed. It will bring another 2,500 rooms. This would take to roughly 130 hotels with 12,000 rooms," he said.

ITC's hotel group operates under four distinct brands - 'ITCHotel' at the luxury end, 'WelcomHotel' in the 5-star segment, 'Fortune' in the mid-market to upscale segment and WelcomHeritage' in the heritage leisure segment.

ITC on Monday formally inaugurated ITC Kohenur, a luxury hospitality project at Hitec City, constructed at a cost of Rs 775 crore.

ITC had earlier said that it would invest Rs 25,000 crore over the next five years in various sectors, of which Rs 10,000 crore would be invested in food processing.

"Our vision is to build 20 integrated consumer goods manufacturing and logistics hubs in the country. Some of them are under construction," Puri added.