The ambitious Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR) project, which is envisaged to become a global manufacturing and trading hub, is starting to take shape. Five infrastructure related projects are already going on in the SIR, while work on two more projects would be formally commenced from tomorrow. Officials said that work on roads and services, water treatment plant, sewage treatment plant, administrative building, river bunding, and setting up of electricity transmission is already in progress, and is targeted to be completed by September next year. The cost of these projects is around Rs2,500 crore, said Jai Prakash Shivahare, CEO of Dholera SIR Regional Development Authority. On Sunday, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani will perform the ground breaking ceremony of a 20 Million Litre per Day (MLD) Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) and a 23-km water pipeline between Pipli and Dholera. The cost of the CETP project is Rs160 crore, and that of the pipeline project Rs2 9 crore. “Work on these two projects is also planned to be completed by September 2019. Simultaneous completion of ongoing and these new projects will allow us to offer plug and play kind of infrastructure to industrial units in Dholera SIR,” Shivahare said. Located about 100 km south of Ahmedabad, and spread over 920 sq km, Dholera SIR will be a Greenfield industrial hub. It was the first investment region to be designated under the proposed Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor. As per the 2001 Census, the population of Dholera SIR area was only 37,000. However, a state government release said that the area is projected to have population of 20 lakh by 2040. Industrial investment in the area is expected to create 8 lakh job opportunities. The Dholera Industrial City Development Limited has been set up as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), in which Centre holds 49% and state holds 51% stake, for developing the SIR. The release said that the CM would formally announce the world’s largest solar power park of 5,000 MW, which would be set up in the SIR. Spread over 11,000 hectare, the park is expected to attract investment of Rs 25,000 crore. Announcement regarding a Skill Development Centre would also be made tomorrow.

Stay updated with all the Ahmedabad Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.