The opening of Polo Hotel Kohima has brought one part of Nagaland’s Rs 150-crore hospitality development plan into operation, while the proposed hotel-and-mall complex in Dimapur remains at the preparatory stage, according to informations available publicly.
The two projects were covered under a single lease agreement signed on September 13, 2023, between the Department of Tourism, Government of Nagaland, and Shillong-based Hotel Polo Towers Group. The agreement provides for the development of a 4/5-star hotel in Kohima and a 4/5-star hotel with a mall at Dimapur Tourist Lodge under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
The Kohima property, located at New Minister’s Hill, was inaugurated by Governor Nand Kishore Yadav on October 24. The 56-room establishment is expected to become Nagaland’s first five-star hotel, although its formal five-star classification had yet to be completed at the time of inauguration.
The Dimapur project, meanwhile, envisages a larger commercial and hospitality development, including luxury accommodation, multiple dining facilities, entertainment and recreation spaces, and retail outlets.
ALSO READ | Nagaland opens first five-star hotel as Rs 150-crore hospitality plan takes shape
The agreement was signed under a Design, Build, Maintain, Operate, Manage and Transfer (DBMOMT) framework. The Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR), in its announcement following the signing, described it as a 60-year lease agreement.
The projects are located at the erstwhile New Millennium site at New Minister’s Hill in Kohima and the existing Tourist Lodge site in Dimapur.
The lease duration has also been reported with a distinction between its initial and extended terms.
Eastern Mirror, reporting on the Kohima hotel’s inauguration, described the arrangement as a 30-year lease. The group’s September 2025 draft prospectus, meanwhile, refers to an initial 30-year period followed by a further 30-year period.
The signed agreement would be the primary document for confirming the precise terms.
Rs 150 crore investment across two locations
When the agreement was announced in September 2023, Hotel Polo Towers Group director Deval Tibrewalla said the two projects were estimated to involve an investment of Rs 150 crore and would provide more than 200 high-end rooms.
The estimate covered both developments, rather than the Kohima hotel alone. The original announcement also projected a completion period of three to four years.
The Dimapur development is expected to be a mixed-use hospitality and commercial facility, distinguishing it from the Kohima project, which focuses primarily on hotel accommodation.
Dimapur project still in preparatory stage
The District Administration Dimapur’s tourism page records that preliminary site assessments, architectural planning and project design work had been initiated following the lease agreement. It also referred to statutory clearances and land-use permissions being processed to facilitate construction.
At the inauguration of the Kohima hotel on October 24, Polo Hotels Group chairman Kishan Tibrewalla said the group would begin work in Dimapur soon.
The group’s September 2025 draft prospectus had also outlined a proposed first phase of 125 rooms for the Dimapur hotel. It recorded project expenditure of Rs 1.69 million as of August 31, 2025, against an estimated project cost of Rs 691.87 million, and stated that contractor quotations had been received but definitive agreements had not been entered into at that point.
Shillong-based group expands into Nagaland
Founded in Shillong in 1991, Hotel Polo Towers Group has hospitality operations in Meghalaya, Tripura and Kolkata. The Kohima property marks its entry into Nagaland.
At the inauguration, the group’s CEO and Whole-time Director Deval Tibrewalla said most employees at the Kohima hotel were local residents. He also said the group intended to source products and services from local weavers, artists, farmers and carpenters.
