IVRCL - IVR Prime plans Re-Sorts, eyes MICE pie

IVRCL arm to invest close to Rs 750 cr to set up 10-15 resorts

HYDERABAD: IVR Prime Urban Developers, the urban development arm of the $625-million realty giant IVRCL Infrastructures & Projects, will build holiday resorts and conference centres across India to cash in on the fast-growing meetings, incentives, conventions and events (MICE) market here.

Under the brand IVR Re-Sorts, the company will add 1,000 keys over the next 2-3 years, group chairman and managing director E Sudhir Reddy told DNA Money. IVR Prime will invest up to Rs 750 crore to set up 10-15 resorts, including six in North India and one 25-acre project in Panvel near Mumbai.

Other cities on its radar are Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune.

Work on the first of the resorts will begin soon at Rewari near Delhi, followed by Sultanpur, Reddy said, adding that a total of 110 rooms each will come up in phase I and II. Spread over 10 acres, these new resorts will be four storeyed to make optimum use of floor space index (FSI).

With a total land bank of 3,000 acre, IVR Prime is into development of integrated townships and residential and commercial projects including hotels, malls and IT parks across seven Indian cities.

The company’s diversification into resorts comes at a time when the real estate market for residential and commercial space is seeing a slowdown. An analyst said that instead of building residential and commercial properties, the company could monetise big chunks of its land bank by developing such resorts. This would also increase the valuation for IVR Prime’s assets, the analyst added.

Thanks to the economic boom, the MICE segment, estimated at $300 billion globally, is growing at a healthy 15-20% per annum in India, show estimates. This segment contributes as much as 30% to the overall travel volume.

According to the International Congress and Convention Association, India has just 1% share in the global meetings business. Though small, this figure provides ample opportunities for India, which can claim a sizeable chunk of the Asian MICE business. Nearly 70% of MICE meetings are held in city hotels, with 21% being in resorts.

The management contract for all the IVR Prime resorts will go to Ellaa Compass Suites, a hospitality company that IVRCL owns with Malaysia’s Compass Hospitality. Ellaa currently runs a 123-room hotel and spa at Gachibowli in Hyderabad.



Link to the article: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1172098