The Dholera Special Investment Region is connected to Delhi via National Highway 8. By 2042, it is expected to create investment opportunities for more than 8 lakh people. By then, it will be home to over 20 lakh individuals from various parts of India and abroad.

Dholera Smart City – An Overview

The Dholera smart city encompasses an area of over 920 square kilometers and is expected to expand over time. In 2009, this ancient port-city in Gujarat’s Gulf of Khambhat shot to fame when the then Chief Minister of the state, Narendra Modi, announced that Dholera would be developed as a world-class greenfield city and will have a special investment region in order to attract Indian and foreign investors.

Envisioned by Mr. Modi as his legacy for Gujarat, the Dholera smart city is expected to have world-class infrastructure and state-of-the-art technology. A six-lane highway will connect Dholera with Ahmedabad, the state capital. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad-Vadodara Expressway, a part of the Golden Quadrilateral, also connects the region.

With an initial investment of billions of dollars, Dholera is set to become the single largest urban development project in the world. Companies looking to expand their operations will be incentivized to set up shop in the Dholera SIR. Already, early-bird incentives are being offered  to companies, including financial grants, tax waivers, and heavy discounts on land prices.

Connectivity and Investments

The smart city will be included within the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor, which will also host a number of other smart cities along the 1483km length of the corridor. The Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) is expected to have a physical footprint larger than the entirety of Singapore.

It will be one of the many hi-tech, sustainable, and industrial cities that the government is planning to transform the country’s service and manufacturing base while providing employment to millions.

Dholera is also expected to house an expressway, an international airport, and a a Mass Rapid Transit System that will add to the connectivity of the SIR. Other provisions and facilities such as a world class storm water drainage system, an underground network of gas supply, and a state-of-the-art telecommunications system.

Already, the government of Gujarat granted of 1,178.95 hectares of land to the Dholera Industrial City Development Limited (DICDL). The underground utilities and a majority of the roads will be constructed soon and will require an investment of over $18,086 million. With world-class design and execution, Dholera is all set to become the country’s first Platinum-Certificate Green City.

Design and Amenities

Freedom in planning and development, commitment to adopt the best practices, a fully developed framework for public-private partnership, and an empowered mechanism for administrative autonomy in operations will characterize the DSIR. A dream project of the Indian Prime Minister, the city will be designed and planned by the UK based consultant firm M/s Halcrow. Some major investors associated with the DSIR include Mitsubishi, CISCO, Hitachi, IBM, Mahindra, Zydus, etc.

Industrial parks, knowledge cities, and residential townships will be built within the confines of the DSIR in order to provide a boost to economic growth in the region. Some of the premium zones to be built in Dholera include the City Center Zone, The High Access Corridor, the Knowledge and IT Zone, the Residential Zone, and the Green Spaces that will be located close to the housing areas.

The future residents of Dholera will also have access to the most modern amenities such as jogging parks, tennis courts, game zones, gazebos, and much more. By 2042, Dholera will likely develop into one of India’s best industrial smart cities.

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