The initial contours of the state government's massive plans to develop over a dozen new cities are slowly emerging. After Dholera, Gujarat government has put its plans to develop Dahej as a greenfield city on a fast track. As many as half a dozen companies including construction and real estate majors like Mahindra Lifespaces Developers(formerly known as Mahindra Gesco Developers), Unitech and Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) have evinced interest to develop Dahej, said government sources privy to the development. Also in fray is Marg Construction, a Chennai based real estate and infrastructure company, sources added.
"The minimum size for developing Dahej city is 100 sq kms. The maximum developable area is about 350 sq kms," said sources close to the development. The estimated investment by a developer would be about Rs 10,000 crore. The bidding process for the project is expected to be over in three months time.
"Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) has recently invited expression of interest from players with a seed capital of Rs 1,000 crore,” sources said. The proposed area will have about 75,000 to one lakh housing units.
Gujarat government came up with a Special Investment Region (SIR) Act in March 2009 for setting up new cities in Gujarat, driven by rapid industrialisation. About 14 such special investment regions have been identified and given to agencies for master plan so far with two more in the offing. These include Sanand, Dholera, Changodar, Santalpur, Hazira, Navlakhi, Simar, Pipavav, Dahej, Anjar, Okha, Aliabet, Savli and Halol.
"The minimum size for any SIR is 100 sq km," sources said.
Rajgopal Nogja, President of HCC Real Estate, said "We are interested in developing Dahej in Gujarat as a greenfield city, besides developing one city in Himachal Pradesh and in Karnataka.”
Aliabet, which will house townships for the Japanese has been identified as an entertainment zone SIR to come up in an area of about 100 sq km, said sources. Dahej has also among the four Smart Cities planned on Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor. It will be built on the lines of Kita Kyusyu and Yokohoma of Japan. They will be made using smart technology, smart grids, smart water management and so on. There will be next generation energy management systems with zero emission industrial parks.
A consortium led by Hitachi including Itochu, Tokyo Electric Power Company and Kitakyushu City have been selected for laying out a plan for Dahej.
Following the enactment of the Gujarat Special Investment Region Act by the state government, Dahej has been notified as a Petrochemicals and Petroleum Investment Region (PCPIR). When fully functional, Dahej PCPIR — falling on the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) —is likely to touch the export target of Rs 62,000 crore. The area has a special economic zone developed by GIDC in association with ONGC.
