Bidding for ITDC sale by month-end

Bidding for ITDC sale by month-end
SANTANU GHOSH

NEW DELHI, NOV 21: The government is likely to come out with the Expression of Interest (EoI) for the disinvestment of India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) by the end of the month. The terms and conditions of the EoI are almost finalised and the government is likely to go for two rounds of bidding -- technical and financial.

According to sources in the Department of Disinvestment (DoD), the EoI would entail detailed conditions on the experience of the bidders in the hotel business. It would also put terms and conditions on the net worth of the potential bidders.

Apart from ITC, other major likely bidders for ITDC disinvestment include Accor and the Taj Group.

Giving details of the disinvestment programme, sources added that separate rounds of bidding will take place for each of the hotels under ITDC. In some cases ITDC owns the hotel land, while in others the land has been leased out to it -- in the event, it will not be possible to bid for all the ITDC hotels as a package.

It is expected that the government will go in for open-bidding as opposed to the traditional sealed-cover bids. The DoD is also thinking of involving the CVC in the process of the disinvestment of ITDC. This will guarantee transparency to the process, sources added.

The government expects a good response to the ITDC disinvestment since the ailing corporation is now showing signs of revival. According to reports, 14 out of the 26 hotels under ITDC have registered growth in the their occupancy rates during April-October 2000. In fact, during the month of October, combined occupancy in these hotels have gone up by around 40 per cent.