Ahmedabad

The City

Ahmedabad was the capital of Gujarat from 1960 to 1970. The capital
was later shifted to Gandhinagar. It is the biggest city in Gujarat.
Ahmedabad is steeped in tradition and culture, yet has a modernity
that brings people from everywhere.

The architectural landscape of Ahmedabad stretches across the millennium.
Fusion of Hindu craftsmanship with Islamic architecture is a marvelous
achievement. The government institutions and military base near
the city also bring peoples from across India. The city’s growing
population is also due to increasing economic expansion and modernization.

Ahmedabad enjoys strategic location advantage of proximity to Mumbai,
commercial capital of the country. Western, Middle East and African
markets are also accessible. The city also arouses a sense of entrepreneurship
and business.

The city earlier established its name as the home of a booming
textile industry. It soon became a rising centre of education,
information technology and scientific industries. Ahmedabad has
always been the cultural and commercial heart of Gujarat. Going
by the ever growing construction of skyscrapers, shopping malls
and multiplexes, the city has moved on to overcome the painful
patches of natural calamities, political instability and outbreaks
of communal violence.
Ahmedabad is quite at the forefront, sharing in the collective
ambition of Gujarat becoming an industrial powerhouse. It is the
state that has the largest number of SEZs actually setting up
operations.

A tourism site has been established with base as Ahmedabad exclusively
for medical tours, alternative therapies and medical assistance
to cater to Gujarat and other parts of the country and the world.
It is well equipped with video conferencing facilities to aid
online consultation and therapy.

There has been a slew of investments in textiles and apparel,
engineering, dairy industry, chemicals and petrochemicals, information
technology, gems and jewellery, tourism and biotechnology. Investors
and NRI Gujaratis have been attracted due to its mega city status
and the strides it has made in terms of healthcare, cuisines and
malls. There are upmarket locations that offer luxury living at
a competitive rate.

Infrastructure

Strong economic growth, rising income levels, urbanization and
improving transparency has made for a robust Indian real estate
market. The property prices in Ahmedabad show an upward trend.
Ahmedabad has found a favor for retail, real estate and financial
services. Leading private banks and nationalized banks have branches
in the city.

Retail and information technology are the upcoming sectors in
the state. IT parks are being set up. Projects in the auto parts
industry are being planned for the city. An arterial road network
of 155 kms has been identified for a Rs. 950 crore Bus Rapid Transit
System (BRTS) in Ahmedabad.

Apartment hotels are coming up at Ahmedabad. Successes have come
in various forms. LNG handling project at Hazira, Sardar Sarovar
Nigam Ltd generating power, improved roads and port facilities
are a few of the examples.

Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board invited private participation
in building roads, ports, power, railways, airports, urban infrastructure,
water supply, information infrastructure and industrial parks,
amongst many other identified infrastructure sectors.

The current focus is on infrastructure by privatizing ports and
building integrated townships. The government is encouraging in
a big way, technology parks, education based townships, medical
and healthcare townships, tourism-related townships, Logistics
Park and residential townships. The Sabarmati river front development
(SRFD) project has its sights set on improving environment, infrastructure
development, public amenities and land development.

The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport serves both
as a domestic and an international airport for the city and neighboring
states. It operates direct flights to all other major cities of
India. The National Highway 8 which connects Delhi to Mumbai passes
though Ahmedabad. The Metro Rail Project is being planned with
private sector participation.

The Apollo Hospitals Group will invest nearly Rs 100 crore to
set up a new Oncology (Cancer) centre in Ahmedabad.

Some of the prominent schools include St Xavier’s Loyola and Mt
Carmel School. Some of India’s big research centers like Physical
Research Laboratory and Space Applications Centre of the Indian
Space Research Organization have their base here.

Institutes for higher education in the fields of arts, design,
management, agriculture, engineering and technology are valued
for their focus on excellence. There are world class institutions
such as Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and National
Institute of Design, Entrepreneurship Development Institute, Center
for Environmental Planning and Technology, to name a few.

Photo: SG Highway Skyline by Kushagra140, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.