[Jai]

Some more information on the infrastructure development paralleling this project

Come 2009, all roads will lead to GIFT

The state govt has decided to invest Rs 400 cr in building three dedicated approaches across the Sabarmati river — an underground tunnel flanked by two four lane bridges — connecting GIFT to Ahmedabad



Come 2009, all roads will lead to the glitzy, ambitious Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) being set up by the Gujarat government jointly with IL&FS at Shahpur village.

In a bid to provide a fast track access to the proposed international financial hub coming up on 500-acres near Gandhinagar, the Gujarat government has decided to invest Rs 400 crore in building three dedicated approaches across the Sabarmati river — an underground tunnel flanked by two four-lane bridges — connecting GIFT to Ahmedabad.

While the underground tunnel will lead directly to the towering 400-metre tall Diamond Tower, GIFT’s diamond faceted steel and glass signature building will tower over 17 other skyscrapers in the project, the two bridges will directly lead to the right and left-hand side main entrances of the GIFT campus.

International consultants have already been appointed for preparing a feasibility study of the project. “The work has been undertaken by Shanghai based Consortium of East China Architectural Design Institute (ECADI) and Fairwood India at the cost of Rs 25 lakh. Work on the dedicated approaches is expected to start in 2009,” a senior urban development department official said.

While the exact location of the underground tunnel and the two bridges will be made known after a complete hydrological study of the river, officials said, all the three dedicated approaches will be situated in the vicinity of Raysan and Koba off Gandhinagar and will be connecting the just broadened six-lane highway leading to the Ahmedabad airport.

GIFT chairman and former Gujarat chief secretary Sudhir Mankad told TOI that the three dedicated approaches will be needed to solve the huge traffic from two sides of Ahmedabad — Sabarmati and Sarkhej — and from Gandhinagar that will move towards the modern finance city.

“We estimate that GIFT will initially employ two lakh people,” he said, adding, “We are looking into the possibility of enhancing the Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) to GIFT in future.” Other forms of transport, too, are being contemplated, as the total employment in GIFT is estimated to hit 4 lakh in a decade’s time.

A public-private partnership project between the Gujarat Urban Development Company (GUDC) and the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS), the $16.33 billion project comprises two parts – a 250 acre special economic zone (SEZ) and a 250-acre domestic tariff area.

According to sources, other roads, particularly the one coming from Himmatnagar in the north and connecting the Ahmedabad airport in the south, will also be broadened from a two-lane to a four-lane road.

Plans are also afoot to reconstruct the Shahpur bridge, which gave way during floods, to provide immediate connectivity from Gandhinagar to GIFT.

From Times of India, Ahmedabad edition, 5 Feb 08