WSN-Panjab News-Gimme the Gobindgarh Fort, I will make it into a hotel

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Gimme the Gobindgarh Fort, I will make it into a hotel
WSN Network

CHANDIGARH: In plans which may trigger a controversy immediately, Sant Singh Chatwal, the Indian-American hotelier and a friend of the Clinton family, plans to convert the historic Gobindgarh fort at Amritsar into a seven-star hotel.

Chatwal, in India for the NRP conclave, said while many foreigners visit Amritsar because of the Golden Temple, there is no hotel of world standard and he that he wishes to convert the Gobindgarh fort into a 7-star hotel which will also have a museum.

He said he has already broached the subject with Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and claimed that he showed interest in the project. This is the first time the issue came to public light because Badal had never given any inkling. Apart from the Gobindgarh fort, Chatwal's Hampshire Hotels & Resorts is looking at other projects too in the state, for which it has set aside Rs 1,500-2,000 crore. This includes a business hotel in Ludhiana, Punjab's leading industrial township, and another seven-star hotel in Mohali, close to Chandigarh.

Chatwal's Hampshire Hotels & Resorts currently owns and manages 10 hotels in New York, two in Montreal, one each in London and Bangkok.

9 January 2008