Mumbai: Indian Hotels Co. Ltd, which runs the Taj group of hotels, said it will fully reopen the heritage wing of the damaged Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel by September.
The chain plans to reopen part of the heritage section of the hotel by February, said vice-chairman R.K. Krishna Kumar on Wednesday. Indian Hotels, controlled by the Tata group, has at present a 62% room occupancy rate, Kumar added.
Proud heritage: A 27 November picture of the Taj hotel. The hotel has a 62% room occupancy at present and had reopened its tower section to customers on 21 December after the terror attacks. Gautam Singh / AP
In end November, terrorists armed with guns and explosives killed at least 183 people in attacks on the Taj Mahal and the Trident hotels, Mumbai’s main railway station—the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus—and a Jewish centre.
The attacks began on the night of 26 November and ended on 29 November. The 105-year-old Taj hotel in Mumbai reopened its tower section to customers on 21 December.
The Taj hotel in Mumbai may claim less than the Rs1,000 crore the property has been insured for, Kumar said. He expects the economic slowdown in India to abate by the third quarter of next year.
Separately, Kumar said Tata group’s Infiniti Retail Ltd, which opened its first shop in October 2006, will invest Rs350 crore to double its stores to 50 in 12 months.
The Tata group may acquire more companies, he said.
Group chairman Ratan Tata last month asked chief executives at the group’s companies to cut costs amid the global financial turmoil.