Wednesday, November 30 2005 15:10 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: Ending years of uncertainty the 165-year old Great Eastern Hotel, Asia's oldest, formally changed hands today (Nov 30, 2005) with Lalit Suri of Delhi-based Bharat Hotels Limited taking over as the final step towards its privatisation.

The State Government sold 90 per cent of the hotel's shares as per the agreement and Bharat Hotels handed over a cheque of Rs 52 crore, as decided by the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) of the West Bengal Government.

The remaining 10 per cent would be retained by the State Government.

Suri later told reporters in Writers' Buildings that the name of the hotel, which has a heritage status, will be 'The Grand Great Eastern Hotel' and will be soon turned into a five-star deluxe one. It will be the eighth hotel in the groups chain in the country.

''We will invest Rs 120 crore for the hotel, which will be our Group's highest investment in Kolkata'', he added.

Meanwhile, INTUC affiliated employees shouted slogans in protest against the ownership transfer, as Suri visited the hotel earlier in the day.

Hotel sources said Suri had to leave the hotel through the backdoor due to the agitation.