The Gujarat International Finance Tec-City or the GIFT City will expand by around 2,300 acres as it will acquire land from four villages in Gujarat's Gandhinagar district, The Indian Express (IE) has reported.
This will be the first major expansion for the GIFT city since its conceptualisation in 2007. When complete, the GIFT city will become thrice its existing price, expanding from 1,065 acres to around 3,365 acres.
Speaking about the matter, the MD and CEO of GIFT City, Tapan Ray told IE, “The expansion is needed because of the increased demand. Almost 50 per cent of the area within GIFT City has been allotted. Secondly, we do not want haphazard development in the peripheral area where there will be slums and inequitable development. So, the expanded area will be developed on the same lines as the GIFT City.”
An urban planner and architect based in Ahmedabad, Bimal Patel's firm HCP Design, Planning and Management Pvt Ltd has been chosen to draw up the master plan for the proposed expansion, the report added. This is the firm that built the new Parliament building in Delhi.
Elaborating on Bimal Patel's selection to draw up the master plan, Ray was cited in the IE report as saying that "We needed someone who is not just a town planner, but has knowledge of local laws and regulations of the state."
The GIFT City
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The city was first conceptualised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a global financial hub and India's "first operational smart city". The city is situated between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar on the banks of the Sabarmati River.
The GIFT city is home to a multi-service Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and houses the country's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
The four villages that will become a part of the city have been chosen as they are located right next to the existing city. Ray said that there will be no relocation of the villagers as the villages will be part of the expanded GIFT city, the IE report added.