By IANS
New Delhi : Gulf-based NRI entrepreneur Ravi Pillai is going to enter the hospitality sector in India in a major way, including a hotel in Kerala.
“We are planning to enter the hospitality sector in India in a major way with operations from Delhi to Chennai,” Pillai, managing director of Saudi Arabia-based industrial contracting and oil refining company Nasir S. Al Hazri Corp, announced at a press conference here Thursday.
Pillai, who is also chairman and managing director of Dubai-based Versailles Hotel and Air Choice Travel & Tourism among other companies, said that his investment in India’s hospitality sector has already started with the launch of a hotel project in Kerala.
“We are starting a Rs. 120-crore (Rs. 1.2 billion) hotel project at Kollam (in Kerala) next year. We are also planning a Rs. 100-crore (Rs. 1 billion) medical resort in Kollam to boost the medical tourism sector in India,” he said.
Pillai, who is also known for his philanthropic work in India, announced that he has set up a charity trust and set apart Rs. 100 million for starting an orphanage in Kerala.
“Initially, the centre will accommodate 100 orphans from different parts of India and they will be given the best care and education until they grow up and are gainfully employed,” he said, adding that he would set apart 20 to 30 percent of his earnings towards similar charity projects in different parts of India.
Pillai was conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award by President Pratibha Patil at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2008, the annual conclave of the Indian diaspora, which concluded here Wednesday.