Dholera Special Investment Region is a greenfield industrial smart city planned and located approximately 100 km southwest of Ahmedabad. It is envisioned as India’s most attractive location for manufacturing and industrial development. The Government of Gujarat has created a legislative framework for the formation of a Special Investment Region (SIR) under the Act 2009, for which a regional development authority, DSIR has been established.

The Dholera Special Investment Region Development Authority (DSIRDA) is in charge of planning and development of DSIR and will encompass the function of administering government land within DSIR. A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) named Dholera Industrial City Development Limited (DICDL) has been created between the Central Government (NICDC Trust) and the State Government (DSIRDA) of Gujarat to implement the project.

Dholera is envisaged to be an incubator city, spanning approximately 920 sq. km., encompassing 22 villages of the Dholera taluka in the district of Ahmedabad. Its strategic location between the industrial cities of Ahmedabad, Baroda, Rajkot, and Bhavnagar will facilitate Ease of Doing Business. Dholera Industrial City will have a self-sustaining ecosystem consisting of economic drivers through industrialisation, utility and logistic infrastructure, and social infrastructure including education, healthcare, and other public amenities.

Dholera aims at creating economic development alongwith enhancing the quality of life for people living and working in the city. DMICDC, with the support of the Government of Gujarat, plans to strategically create an economically and socially balanced new-age city with world-class infrastructure and highest quality-of-life standards.

Dholera is committed to increasing transport efficiency and improve trade flows based on the strategic pillars of sustainability, digitisation, and innovation. It will be connected with Ahmedabad by a 6-lane access-controlled expressway and MRTS (Metro Rail) in one common corridor and shall provide seamless connectivity and rail-road transition as an effective means of transportation between the two cities. An international airport is being developed to the northeast of DSIR, by Dholera International Airport Company Limited (DIACL). The airport has already received environmental and site clearance.

Industries in DSIR

Dholera is India’s first platinum-rated industrial smart city, comprising the largest land parcels in southeast Asia. Accordingly, Defence, Aviation, Electronics, High-Tech Emerging Technologies, Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology, Heavy engineering, Auto & Auto Ancillary, General Manufacturing, Agro & Food processing, Metals & Metallurgical Products, etc. are the sectors identified with a high potential for Dholera Industrial City. DSIR, with its plug-and-play infrastructure and lower power tariff, will be home to non-polluting industries, promoting clean, green, and sustainable urban development, which can contribute to the growth of the region and India.

Town Planning Schemes (TPS)

Dholera aims to improve the quality of life in terms of economic sustainability and cultural sensibility. Given this, the Government of Gujarat and DSIRDA have adopted the mechanism of Town Planning Schemes (TPS) to ensure the delivery of serviced land that can benefit the local population and the private sector.

TP schemes are being implemented under the Gujarat Town Planning and Urban Development Act, 1976 (GTPUD). The developable area in DSIR is divided into six (6) Town Planning (TP) Schemes and all six draft schemes have been sanctioned. Town Planning Schemes 1 and 2 cover the development in Phase-I. TP 1 is spread over approximately 51 sq km or 12,750 acres, and TP 2 is over 102 sq km or 25,000 acres.

The town planning schemes will be planned in a way that the community living there shall have an easy access to all social infrastructure like schools, commercial establishment, hospitals etc.

Project background – DSIR Phase I

The Development Plan for DSIR has been prepared and sanctioned by DSIRDA. Phase-I constitutes TP1 and TP2 covering 153 sq km. Apart from urban development, overall trunk and external infrastructure will be developed to support the development at DSIR. These include the following:

1. Overall Trunk infrastructure projects

1. Roads and services/utilities
2. Raw water transmission line from the source
3. Wastewater treatment and recycle
4. Solid waste management
5. Power T&D network
6. Information Communication Technology (ICT) network
7. Administrative and Business Centre of Dholera (ABCD)

2. External infrastructure projects

1. River bunding for flood management
2. Ahmedabad – Dholera Expressway
3. Ahmedabad – Dholera MRTS
4. Freight rail from DSIR to Bhimnath for connection to DFC
5. Dholera International Airport

Dholera’s immediate city development area of approximately 5,600 acres is expected to be operational by the end of first quarter of 2022.

Dholera Industrial City is envisaged to be a world-class destination with excellent infrastructure. The city will provide opportunities for the setting up of manufacturing units, which will in turn help in increasing the industrial output of the country and create more than 8,00,000 jobs. All of this, while aiming to provide an environment to work, live, learn, and play. Dholera SIR is a planned smart, sustainable community, which will be the role model for future cities in India. The sanctioned Development Plan of Dholera Industrial City comprises a total land area of 920 sq km.

The Dholera Industrial City area has a total developable area of about 580 sq. km., as one-third of the area falls within the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) boundary where development is restricted and is as per CRZ norms. Out of the 580 sq km, the prime agricultural land has been preserved and a total area of about 422 sq km has been set for urban development. This area has been translated into six town-planning schemes and will be developed in three phases over 30 years.

Key Statistics

Strategic location

Gujarat is strategically connected to the major cities of the world, both by air and sea routes. The state has direct international flight connectivity to cities across Europe, Middle East, East Asia, and America. It has a coastline of 1,600 km with 42 ports that connect to major sea-based trade routes and trade centres like the Middle East, West Europe, Asia, and upcoming destinations on the African Continent. The state also acts as a gateway to landlocked states of India, connecting them by road, rail, and air, thereby boosting their trading opportunities. Gujarat is a forward-looking and progressive state of India in ease of doing business. The state also contributes in a big way to solar development in the country through one of the world’s largest solar parks. This mitigates the adverse impact of climate change and ensures sustainable development by producing green and clean energy.

OPPORTUNITY POTENTIAL

STRONG FUNDAMENTALS

• The state has a population of 60 million and has one of the highest urbanisation levels – 43%, as per census 2011
• The state has a high and growing literacy rate of 78.03%, as per census 2011
• Gujarat’s contribution to India’s GDP is 8.1%
• Gujarat’s contribution to India’s Exports is more than 20% ( 2020-2021)
• Gujarat ranks 1 in terms of export promotion policy, business environment and infrastructure -Export Preparedness Report 2020
• Gujarat ranks 2 in terms of Knowledge Workers as per NITI Aayog’s India Innovation Index-2019.
• Gujarat has 20.9% share in India’s fixed capital investment.
• The state has double-digit growth rates with gross state domestic product of USD 74 billion (2011-12) growing at a five-year average of 10%
• 35.8% share of manufacturing sector in Gujarat’s GSDP. 40% of total Indian port cargo is handled by Gujarat’s ports
• Gujarat has a strong demographic profile; more than 60% of the population is between the age group of 15-59 years. (census 2011)
• 49 ports (including 1 Major Port) handle 40% of India’s Port Cargo47 special economic zones

SIR ACT 2009

The Special Investment Region(SIR) ACT – 2009

The state government has enacted a legal framework for the SIR – The Gujarat Special Investment Region Act – 2009. It has come into effect from 6th January, 2009. This shows the commitment of the Government to set up world-class hubs of economic activity on the lines of fastest growing countries of the world.

The SIR Act, inter alia, provides for following matters:

• It enables the State Government to establish, develop, operate and regulate the Special Investment Regions (SIR)
• The Government is empowered to declare Investment Regions or Industrial Areas and designate them as Special Investment Regions (SIR)
• An Investment Region will have as area of more than 100 sq km. and an Industrial Area will have an area of more than 50 sq km.
• A four tier administrative mechanism is set up for establishment, operation, regulation and management of the SIRs
• The administrative mechanism comprises of an Apex Authority (GIDB), a Regional Development Authority (RDA) for each SIR, a Project Development Agency and project specific SPVs
• The Apex Authority will be the highest policy making body
• RDA will look after the ground level issue of development & regulation
• RDA will make its own regulations for building, construction and development
• The Apex Authority will be the single window system and the first contact for the setting up any economic activity or amenity in the SIR
• The SIR Act empowers the state government for setting up of a Project Development Agency
• Government has already formed such a project development company in the name of “Gujarat Industrial Corridor Company” (GICC)
• It provides for effective internal dispute settlement mechanism by a three-tier system
• It provides an effective framework for private sector participation in infrastructure by drawing upon the Gujarat Infrastructure Development Act (GID) Act – 1999