The Vast Dholera Smart City Project
Dholera is a town in Ahmedabad district of Gujarat, being developed as a greenfield industrial hub under the smart city plan of Government of India. Dholera is located 100 Km south of Ahmedabad, encompassing 22 villages of Dholera Taluka and spreading over 920 sq. Km. The resulting smart city would be twice the size of Mumbai and six times of Shanghai. With the help of Japan a new-age city is being developed which shall be a free trade zone. With world-class infrastructure, it is envisaged to create 8 lakh employment opportunities and house 20 lakh people by 2042. Moreover, Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) is a part of Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).
What Makes Dholera City Different
Dholera shall be developed in phases under six town planning schemes. The first phase of 22.5 sq. Km is likely to commence operations by September 2019 at an investment of approx. 3000 Cr. The last of all phases is expected to be completed by 2040. The smart, sustainable and industrial city of Dholera will have 300 Km road, 380 MW power availability, 6 lane express highways, metro rail network and a well-connected port in vicinity along with an international airport.
Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL) has also floated tenders for a 5,000 MW Solar Park at an investment of 25,000 Cr. Also there are plans to set up a 200 MW wind park in Dholera SIR with a 1,400 Cr. investment.
For water and waste management, Dholera shall have 400 Km pipelines, 50 MLD capacity Water Treatment Plant (WTP), 10 MLD capacity Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), 20 MLD capacity Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) along with a 6 Km open canal and 140 Km of underground ducting.
Ongoing Developments at Dholera
Nila Infrastructures have recently bagged a contract for design and construction of “service area building” also called ABCD building in DSIR. A greenfield international airport city is also coming up in Dholera SIR. During the 2nd Gujarat Aviation Conclave 2019, Jai Prakash Shivhare, Managing Director of Dholera Industrial City Development Limited (DICDL) mentioned the proposal received from the Indian Army for establishing a firing range. He also mentioned that “It will be used for testing of weapons which will be developed”.
During the same conclave he mentioned the plan of Tata Group for setting up a lithium-ion battery manufacturing unit by investing Rs. 4,000 Cr. Also, a strategic partnership MoU has been signed by European aviation giant Airbus for advising DICDL on setting up an Aerospace and Defense Manufacturing cluster in DSIR.
Big Consulting Groups for Dholera’s Planning
Wipro Technology has been appointed as information and communication technology consultant, L&T Infrastructure has been appointed for the construction of roads and services. Aecom has been appointed as consultant for planning and execution of the project including roads, drainage system, water supply, gas, recycle water, sewerage, power and information communication technology.
