GIFT City's residential development gets boost from Gujarat govt

In a significant move that will boost development at GIFT City, the Gujarat government has issued a resolution to also allow those not working within the country's first operational smart city to reside in the City.

Until now, only those working in GIFT City could occupy residences there.

The government earlier relaxed the ownership condition by which any entity could develop and own residential property in GIFT City.

With this relaxation, both ownership and occupancy conditions are no longer restrictive and open to all, GIFT City said in a statement.

However, the relaxation would be limited to the first 5,000 residential units, or for units whose construction begins before March 31, 2023, whichever is earlier, it added.

Welcoming the move, GIFT City MD and Group CEO Tapan Ray said, "GIFT City has witnessed a good amount of participation in commercial and social development projects. This amendment will encourage more investments in the residential sector of the city and will help in leveraging the City's top-of-the-line quality of life."

He added that it will bring vibrancy to GIFT City with more number of people residing in the city and create new avenues for employment.

"We already have reputed developers whose residential projects are at various stages of development in GIFT City. We now invite other real estate players and investors to consider this new business opportunity. We thank Government of Gujarat for their continuous support for GIFT City," he added.

Of the proposed 62 million sq ft of vertical development in GIFT City, the residential area of 14 million square feet is planned and will occupy 22 per cent of the total development.

Some of the infrastructure facilities that make GIFT City an attractive destination for real estate developers are district cooling system, underground utility tunnel, automated waste collection system. Few of them have been implemented for the first time in India.

Currently, around 10,000 people are working in 225 units in GIFT City.

With the recent tax incentives announced in Union Budget coupled with stamp duty exemption by Gujarat government, GIFT City said it is witnessing heightened interest for participation from corporates who want to do their offshore business onshore from GIFT City.

GIFT City is India's first operational smart city and international financial services centre (IFSC).