Rs 67,000 Crore change for Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad’s landscape is set to change dramatically. Residential townships, five-star hotels, large commercial projects on Sabarmati riverfront and scores of new multiplexes will be some of the mega structures that will give the city a completely new look over the next few years. The scale of proposed development in the city came to the fore after the state urban development department conducted a viability analysis of MoUs signed during the recent Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ Summit (VGGIS). At the end of the analysis, viable project investments concerning Ahmedabad stood at a staggering Rs 66,000 crore, department sources said. Of these, eight projects are mammoth in size and make up for Rs 25,000 crore investment. Among these are the AMCGUDC office complex on the riverfront worth Rs 10,000 crore, and the Godrej Properties special township project in western Ahmedabad worth Rs 5,500 crore. The Godrej township will boast of a residential area built amidst natural settings, a stadium, multiplex, a large aquarium and children’s park. However, the biggest project in the realty sector will come in the form of an integrated township on the city outskirts. This will primarily feature low-cost housing units. On its part, the government promises to facilitate development on the peripheries of the city and will bring out a new township policy for the purpose. These proposals, culled out from the entire pool of infrastructure MoUs, were understandably put up by the country’s premier corporate houses, developers and land holders, including ITC Limited, Bharat Hotels and Parshwanath Realty Pvt Ltd. A five-star hotel proposed by ITC will be built at the cost Rs 375 crore. It will have a staff of 1,000. That apart, Asia Everest Ltd, which specialises in multi-level parking lots, will build an ‘on-road on-line parking system’ in the city at the cost of Rs 250 crore. Government officials said all viable projects will be approved through the single-window process. Urban development department secretary K Srinivas said, “The government is as keen on development as developers are on doing business. Hence, we will examine and approve proposals fast. Looking to the pace of growth of the city, AMC and AUDA seek to bring about development of townships in an integrated manner.” A total of 250 infrastructure projects worth Rs 1,00,000 crore have been proposed in all the six municipal corporation areas of the state, of which Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar have bagged projects worth Rs 67,000 crore.