InterContinental Hotels Group announced its joint venture with Duet India Hotels will open 19 hotels in India by investing about Rs 1,300 crore in the next five years.

As per the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two companies, the JV 'Duet Smart Hotels India' will invest Rs 1,300 crore (€20M) for setting up the properties under the Holiday Inn Express brand across the country.This is the fourth brand for IHG in India after the InterContinental, the Crowne Plaza and the Holiday Inn brands.The first hotel under the Holiday Inn Express brand under the JV was opened today in Ahmedabad (see picture)."The joint venture with Duet India Hotels is for setting up 19 hotels under the Holiday Inn Express brand in India," InterContinental Hotels Group(IHG) South West Asia VP Operations Douglas Martell told reporters here.In the JV, Duet India Hotels has 76% stake while InterContinental Hotels Group holds 24% stake.On the time line and investments for these hotels, Duet India Hotels President Naveen Jain said: "All the 19 hotels will be opened in the next five financial years. The investments will be raised through a mix of debt and equity.The JV entity is looking at locations like Chennai, Hyderabad, Navi Mumbai, which are already in various stages of development for expansion in the first stage. It is also looking at NCR, Kolkata, Bangalore and Goa, Jain said.InterContinental Hotels Group currently has 12 hotels under its brands in India and 37 hotels are in the pipeline.