Chennai, Aug 8: Sterling Holiday Resorts (India) Ltd is seeking a few acres of land from the Uttar Pradesh government at the original site of its Sterling Grand project in Noida to build a timeshare and holiday resort.According to Sterling Holiday Resorts president Steve Borgia, the company conveyed its intention of purchasing two to three acres of land at the project site to the UP government last month. It is awaiting the state government's permission, he said.In May this year, the UP government had taken possession of the 450 acres it had leased to Sterling Holidays in 1994 for the Sterling Grand project due to non-payment of dues. It later leased the land to Delhi-based Jaiprakash Industries (JP Group), which has interests in the hospitality business, among others. The transition deal between Sterling and the JP Group is yet to be finalised. The JP group has taken over the project's liabilities to the tune of Rs 140 crore, which mainly include a Rs 40 crore term loan from ICICI, the interest thereof, and Rs 50-crore worth of lease rentals etc owed to the UP government for the last three-and-a-half years.
While the golf memberships collected by Sterling Resorts so far will be honoured by the JP group, the former has to take care of the timeshare memberships it had collected for the proposed `Sterling Crown' - an RCI gold crown resort at the site.
Launched in 1996, the mega project originally envisaged a five-star delux hotel, a timeshare resort with modern facilities apart from an integrated sports complex with a golf & country club and a sports & country club to be managed by the International Management Group (IMG), the world's largest sports management and marketing organisation, at the site. The highlight of the project was a signature golf course designed by Greg Norman, former world champion golfer.
The Rs 800-crore project, however, did not take off as expected because of lack of funds and what started as a dream project for the company turned out to be its nightmare. It could complete only the first phase (nine holes) of the golf course. "We are glad to get this liability off our hands", says Borgia. Maintenance of the project site alone used to cost the company a considerable sum every month.
The extent of reimbursement the company will get on the amounts it had invested on the project from the new team in Noida will be known after the transition deal is finalised. The company has so far paid Rs 25 crore to the UP government towards allotment and registration fees, installments, annual lease fees and other dues. It has also invested Rs 80 crore on the project, around 50 per cent of which came from ICICI. ICICI is said to have had a significant role in the changeover.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.