The Naz Garden hotel in Bogura for sale
Ongoing discussions with Akij Group
Sun Jan 30 2022 12:00 AM Last updated on: Sun Jan 30 2022 12:50 AM
Naz Garden, the first three-star hotel in northern Bangladesh, is suffering losses due to the pandemic, its owner said. Photo: Mostafa Shabuj
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Naz Garden, the first three-star hotel in northern Bangladesh, is suffering losses due to the pandemic, its owner said. Photo: Mostafa Shabuj
The pandemic ended up being the final nail in the coffin at the Naz Garden Hotel in Bogura, the first three-star property in northern Bangladesh, which the owner put up for sale to end the bleeding.
Recently, Akij Group offered 140 crore of Tk and asked for a month to finalize the deal, owner Mohammad Shokrana, a veteran BNP leader who left politics in 2019, told the Daily Star.
For all the latest news, follow the Daily Star’s Google News channel. “Having continuously suffered losses during the pandemic, I decided to sell it. I wanted 200 crore of Tk but couldn’t find any buyer,” he said.
This discussion was ongoing was confirmed by Dr. Sheikh Mohiuddin, the eldest son of the late Sheikh Akij Uddin, founding chairman of the group.
On the price offer, Mohiuddin said what Shokrana quoted was not correct.
“We will make everything public once it is final. We plan to establish a medical school and a hospital while managing the hotel differently,” said Mohiddun, executive director of the Ad-din Foundation, which manages eight hospitals and four faculties of medicine.
Akij Group is one of the largest business houses in Bangladesh with diverse interests ranging from textiles, cement, ceramics, printing and packaging, hospitals, medical colleges, industrial products pharmaceuticals to food, beverage and consumer products.
There have been few noteworthy achievements from the hotel although it was born 16 years ago on a recipe just for success.
Shokrana originally planned to build a motel, but later learned that the International Cricket Council (ICC) would declare a stadium in Bogura as an international cricket venue.
The thought of international guests during matches made him spend Tk 15 crore just a few kilometers from Shaheed Chandu Stadium.
Sprawling over 15.11 acres of land, the hotel is located in the Silimpur area, on the bypass of Bogra town, in the heart of the district, approximately 192 kilometers from Dhaka.
It offers an array of 94 rooms, gardens, a bar, four ballrooms, a swimming pool and a 160-foot-long, 60-foot-wide lake.
“Later, ICC officials visited my hotel and announced it as an ICC hotel,” Shokrana said.
But no international match has taken place there since 2006.
The hotel has so far been successful in accommodating guests including business people, government officials, and non-governmental representatives (NGOs).
Then another hotel of the same service and quality standards was built by the NGO Thengamara Mohila Sabuj Sangha in the neighborhood, increasing competition for customers.
“Due to the pandemic, we are experiencing losses of Tk 2 lakh to Tk 3.5 lakh per day… I can no longer run this business,” Skokrana said.
Upon hearing that he was liquidating all assets due to his plans to go and live with his eldest son in Canada, Shokrana said these were just rumours.
Referring to a common perception that people abroad do their own chores, he said: “I am now 72 years old. Why am I going to settle in Canada? To wash my own clothes at this advanced age?