The Jatiya Shangshad (JS) watchdog on civil aviation and tourism ministry has asked the ministry concerned to submit a complete report before it about the expenditure and tender process of renovation work of the Intercontinental Hotel. Besides, the committee also wanted to know who were engaged in the renovation works.
The recommendation was made at the 6th meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Civil Aviation And Tourism at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban in capital Dhaka.
Chairman of the committee Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury presided over the meeting. Members of the committee State Minster for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Mahbub Ali, Engineer Mosharaf Hossain Kazi Firoze Rashid, Tanvir Imam, Ashek Ullah Rafique and Syeda Rubina Aktar were present at the meeting. The original cost for renovation was estimated at $43 million (Tk 344 crore) in 2014, which soared nearly 56 percent to $67 million (Tk 536 crore). The Intercontinental Hotel Dhaka, formerly known as Ruposhi Bangla and Sheraton, has been inaugurated after four years of renovation work.
The 226 room hotel with minimum size of 40 square metres each has 201 premium or deluxe rooms, 10 deluxe suites, five superior suites, five diplomatic suites and five presidential suites. The committee has also recommended taking a massive working plan by Bangladesh Tourism Corporation including all identified tourism sites. The committee also discussed about the exclusive tourism zone at Payra Deep Seaport. The land acquisition for the project is now under process.