More expensive than gold, this place in Gujarat has become India's premier platinum-rated industrial smart city
Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit: 2024 Targeted completion of state-of-the-art 4-lane expressway to Ahmedabad for Dholera Industrial Smart City by 2024. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel's team is constantly striving for the smooth development of Dholera SIR.
Gandhinagar: The upcoming 10th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit is scheduled to be held in January 2024 for which preparations are going on at full speed. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel recently visited Dholera SIR (Special Investment Region) to inspect the progress of Greenfield Industrial Smart City and its infrastructure works.
The first phase of the project (22.54 sq km) has been 95 percent successfully completed, opening new avenues for global investments in Gujarat. During his visit, the Chief Minister highlighted Dholera's advanced infrastructure, strategic location and huge potential in emerging sectors like semiconductors and green hydrogen and emphasized the important role of these sectors in India's sustainable and technology-driven development. The city's infrastructure is rapidly evolving to realize Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's vision of positioning Dholera as a world-class smart industrial development model in line with the vision of Developed India@2047.
The state government enacted the SIR (Special Investment Regions) Act in 2009 to provide for the establishment, operation, regulation and management of large-scale investment zones and industrial zones, so as to strengthen Gujarat's manufacturing ecosystem as well as to emphasize various sectors of India's dynamic business ecosystem. They can be developed as global hubs of activity. A prime example is Dholera, India's premier platinum-rated industrial smart city with the country's largest land parcel. It is one of the first few cities in the world to receive the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) Green City rating and India's first greenfield city.
Located about 100 km south of Ahmedabad and 130 km from Gandhinagar, the Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) is poised to become a major greenfield industrial hub. DSIR, with its world-class plug-and-play infrastructure and low power tariff, will be a hub for non-polluting industries. It aims to create an economically and socially balanced new-age city with the highest quality of life standards and sustainability in terms of urban development.
This is a benchmark initiative of the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) to create a linear zone of industrial clusters and nodes to be developed in the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) area. NICDC and DSIR Development Authority (DSIRDA) have formed SPV as Dholera Industrial City Development Limited (DICDL) to implement the projects. Out of 920 sq. km the total developable area is 422 sq. km and 110 sq. km. The area has been earmarked for industrial development. The first phase of the DSIR project, known as the Activation Area, covers 22.54 sq km. It includes areas earmarked for industries, residential spaces, mixed-use, recreation, social infrastructure, and tourism. Allotment of land for industries covering contiguous land parcels ranging from 1 acre to 330 acres and above has started.
A robust water management system including a 50 MLD water treatment plant, a Master Balancing Reservoir (MBR), elevated service reservoirs, 10 MLD Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) and 20 MLD Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) has been worked out in the first phase. Under the supervision of the City Integrated Operations Center, it caters to residential, commercial, and industrial water needs, contributing to the city's self-sufficiency.
Dholera Industrial Smart City is also well connected by air, roads, railways, and sea routes. A state-of-the-art 4-lane expressway to Ahmedabad is under construction, which is targeted for completion by 2024. The necessary right of way for the construction of Metro Rail has been acquired. The multi-modal transport system includes regional freight corridors, public transport corridors, internal transport, bus rapid transport (BRT), and mass rapid transport (MRT). Detailed Project Report (DPR) has been approved for the Bhimnath-Dholera Freight Rail Line, which will enhance efficient movement through DFC and connect seaports. Dholera International Airport is under construction and will be ready for cargo movement by December 2025. The airport will handle 300,000 passengers and over 20,000 tonnes of cargo annually.
Dholera SIR is instrumental in advancing India's semiconductor and display industry with a dedicated Semicon City. Renew Power, a leading renewable energy park developer is building a solar module and cell manufacturing plant on 100 acres. Tata Chemicals Ltd is setting up a lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant on 126 acres. Hindustan Petroleum Corp Limited is developing fuel stations and electric vehicle charging stations in the activation area. Torrent Power has set up a power distribution network in Dholera to meet the industrial power requirements.
Over 8500 hectares of land in DSIR's coastal regulation zone have been earmarked for developing solar parks. In the energy sector, the 4400 MW solar park at Dholera is a game changer park in line with the national target of 250 GW of green energy by 2030. It is being developed by Gujarat Energy Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) under the PPP model. The state government has allotted 11,000 hectares of land for this project. GPCL (Gujarat Power Corporation Limited) is commissioning 1000 MW, of which Tata Power Company Limited has already commissioned 300 MW. Power evacuation to the grid is operated by the state power transmission company GETCO (Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Limited).
Greenfield smart cities have immense potential in areas such as defense, aviation, electronics, hi-tech emerging technology, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology as well as heavy engineering. DSIR will be a major beneficiary of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) and Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), with 38% of the DFC passing through Gujarat (565 km). It is currently an ideal investment destination in India with its world-class infrastructure and modular approach to sustainable development.
Source: https://zeenews.india.com/
