Diamond city Surat set for image makeover

VADODARA: Diamond city Surat is fast emerging as a hospitality and recreational hub in Gujarat. The Gujarat Government has signed an agreement with a private hotelier for a seven-star hotel to be built at the cost of Rs 270 crore in Surat, official sources said today.

Apart from this, several projects are in the pipeline which, on completion, will transform Surat's image. Surat's diamond industry has an annual turnover of Rs 70,000 crore, while the figure for textile sector is Rs 30,000 crore.

The Government is determined to put the south Gujarat city on the hospitality and entertainment map prominently, the sources said.

"The hospitality sector in Surat is all set to boom in the next couple of years with Rs 17059 crore worth of MOUs signed for 48 hotels and other facilities like a Film City, restaurants and golf club," they told PTI.

The MoUs were signed during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit held in Gandhinagar early this month. At least one lakh jobs will be generated by this huge investment in the district, the sources said.

Mumbai-based Atlanta Ltd has signed an MOU worth Rs 9,500 crore for a luxurious beach resort and a star hotel. Trans Globe Infrastructure has entered into an MOU worth Rs 2100 crore to set up a mega tourism park having international facility, they said.

Trans Globe is also planning to set up a Film City Studio on 100 acres with a dancing, grooming and acting academy worth Rs 250 crore and a five-star hotel with a spa at a cost of Rs 200 crore.