20.11.12

Surat plans a High Density Corridor


A high density corridor will be developed in the diamond city to boost growth and solve transportation problems in its new areas.
It would be 29 km long and would come up along the 66 km Outer Ring Road where there is maximum residential and commercial development.
The project is slated to begin immediately after the assembly elections. The total cost of the Outer Ring Road project is estimated at Rs 5,500 crore and it will earn a revenue of Rs 11,500 crore through sale of FSI, etc. for Surat Urban Development Authority (SUDA) and Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC).
The development in the city so far has been based on 1994-95 plans and 1991 census figures.
“Nobody had envisaged this increase in population then. There has been tremendous increase in population in the city after 1991. It is now around 45 lakh. Hence, there is a need for a high density growth corridor,” said PK Dutta, senior town planner, SUDA.
“We have planned an integrated model that is unique with mass transport requirement in mind. A 25 metre space in the middle of the planned 90 metre wide roads would be left for mass transport facility,” said Manoj Das, municipal commissioner and SUDA chairman.
SMC and SUDA planners have integrated mass transport systems like Light Rail Transport (LRT) and metro along the high density corridor that will pass through Valak, Sarthana, Simada, Saniya Hemad, Vedcha, Neol, Kumbharsala and Kharwasa villages. As the land resources are getting scarce in urban space, the corridor envisages minimum urban land.
“The scarce resources would be used systematically. We have this 29 km stretch where majority of the land is virgin agriculture land without any urban development. The planning is investment oriented. It will help fund the project and also create a world class infrastructure,” Dutta said.

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