CHANDIGARH, Nov 19: A number of international financial and management consultancy firms are among the 27 bidders offering consultancy to the Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation (CITCO) for privatisation of its hotels.The CITCO management had, through an advertisement invited offers from management consultants for helping it in leasing out one of its prime properties to a private party for a period of 33 years, while keeping CITCO's interests in view. Offers were invited upto November 15.CITCO officials feel the management consultants would explore all aspects of the feasibility of the proposal to privatise the hotels. For the time being, CITCO plans to privatise only one of its hotels, which the CITCO Workers' Union says is the prestigious Hotel Mountview in Sector 10. The CITCO board has, however, decided to lease out both its hotels - Mountview and Shivalikview.Among the international management consultants who have now put in their offers for their professional consultancy in privatisation of CITCO hotel include Price Water House, John's Long, Colliere Jarding, C.B. Richards and Crisal Advisory Services.Sources say that four other consultancy firms, who had made their presentations before the CITCO management in July for listing ways of improving the functioning in CITCO hotels, have also bid for the consultancy offers. These include IDBI Capital Market Services, Vinod Dua and Associates, New Delhi and Mahajan & Ainbara, Bombay, besides Tourism Advisory and Financial Services Limited (Tafsil). Such firms had also listed various options before CITCO for either leasing out, going in for a permanent sale, venture into a joint venture, hand over the management or give the market franchise for its hotels, after which the CITCO board finally decided on leasing out the hotels in an attempt to bring in professionalism in their functioning.While CITCO officials were tightlipped about the future course of action in the matter, including its managing director Satish Chandra, sources say that the offers received would be scrutinised by CITCO before a final decision is taken.Sources add that before starting the leasing out process, CITCO would also have to seek permission from the Chandigarh Administration for the same, who owns the land on which CITCO properties have been built.While Hotel Mountview is built in an area of 6.5 acres offering 68 rooms, Hotel Shivalikview is spread in an area of about 3 acres and offers 104 rooms. Further expansion of Hotel Mountview is also on which would add another 86 rooms in the hotel.Incidentally, both the hotels which CITCO proposes to lease out are making profits, with Mountview earning a profit of Rs 2.25 crore during the last year on a turnover of Rs 8.5 crore and Shivalikview earning profits of Rs 1.5 crore on a turnover of Rs 6 crore last year.The move to lease out one of the hotels of CITCO has also raked up a controversy, with employees agitating against it as they claim that Mountview also accounted for over 60 per cent of CITCO's profits.
