"We are developing a lot of properties in India, some on our own while others in partnership. We are also getting into management contracts in the overseas markets," P R S Oberoi, chairman, Oberoi Group, and son of the late founder, Rai Bahadur Oberoi, told reporters in New Delhi.

The group is developing one property each in Mumbai, Goa and Rajgarh in Madhya Pradesh on its own. It also has partnership projects in Bangalore and Hyderabad.

S S Mukherjee, vice chairman, disclosed that the group had earmarked an investment of Rs900 crore for adding 1,500 rooms in India, of which, Rs400 crore had been invested already.

Currently, the group has 2,950 rooms in India and the company''s expansion programme will be completed between August next year to 2011, he added.

East India Hotels also plans to enter into management contracts for properties in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Cambodia and Maldives that would add another nearly 1,200 rooms. Currently, the Oberoi Group, which operates 32 hotels in five countries has 1,690 rooms overseas.

The group''s property in Udaipur, the Oberoi Uday Vilas, received an overall score of 94.36 by in a Travel + Leisure reader survey emerging as the world''s best hotel. Earlier in 2005 Conde Nast had named the property to its ''gold list'' (See: Condé Nast Traveller puts Udaivilas in the 2006 ''gold list'')

Travel + Leisure also rated Oberoi Amar Villas in Agra as the 10th best hotel in the world, followed by Oberoi Raj Villas in Jaipur as the 11th best.