What’s so unique about GIFT City, Gujarat

In early 2015 when Mr. Modi, the Prime Minister of India, announced his ambitious project of developing 100 Smart Cities, he was criticized by many. Experts estimated that it would require around $20 billion to develop one Smart City, an amount impossible for the government to allocate. On the other hand, Mr. Modi was confident of what he was proposing. Well, he knew what a smart City means and how that can be developed! After all, he was one of the masterminds who conceptualized GIFT City in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Not only being the first entrant to the list of 100 Smart Cities, Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, or GIFT is also a role model for many. GIFT City was initially conceptualized as a Central Business District between Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad. It then soon got converted into International Finance Tec-City. It is being developed on 886 acres of land. It will provide high-quality physical infrastructure to its occupants. Services like 24 hours electricity, water, gas, district cooling, roads, telecoms and broadband would encourage finance and tech firms to establish their operations there. GIFT City will have a special economic zone, international education zone, integrated townships, an entertainment zone, hotels, a convention center, an international techno park, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) units, shopping malls, stock exchanges and service units.

GIFT city will provide a new lease of life to the now quiet state capital, Gandhinagar, a 20-minute drive away. Eventually, there will be bus and metro service connecting GIFT City to Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar and will gradually become the focal point of all business activities.

World class office and retail complexes at GIFT City will help create more than one million direct and indirect jobs. The city will also have residential complexes which will allow employees to walk to work, and social infrastructures like a school, hospital, and malls. GIFT City’s administration plans central air-conditioning in all buildings, filtered tap water and municipal waste collection system. These facilities would make GIFT City far more advanced than existing Indian cities.

The Indian Government, its Prime Minister, in particular, is very optimistic about this city. It has roped in state-run banks and global financial institutions to fund the project. The first phase of the planned city is expected to get completed by the end of the year 2016. Once fully operational, GIFT City will redefine the meaning of ‘Urban’ and will surely encourage many more cities.