Gujarat, India - A unique ’green building’ experiment is underway to create the world’s largest international financial center and one of India’s biggest ever infrastructure projects. The Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) will occupy a green field site of more than 500 acres in the rapidly developing state of Gujarat in India. It is slated to be the world’s largest international financial services center and IT hub when it is completed in 2017.

This landmark project is an attempt to harness the growth and ambition of India, and direct it toward a concentrated urban setting as the focal point for the future development of the country.
 
In addition to hosting advanced ICT (information and communications technologies) systems, GIFT will function as an environmentally friendly eco-city, incorporating renewable energy sources like solar power, energy-efficient intelligent buildings and district cooling.

ABB, a world leader in power and automation technologies, was selected by Fairwood India, the project management consultants for GIFT, to design a complete power distribution system for the entire city to international benchmark levels of grid reliability, power quality and energy efficiency.

GIFT will have 104 million sq. ft. of built-up area, largely dedicated towards offices, in a concentrated high-rise setting that will be visually stunning as well as efficient and convenient to live in. The project is in its final pre-construction stages, and work on the ground has begun.

The site consists of about 100 million square feet of commercial and residential floor space, including an 80-storey signature building known as Diamond Tower. The center will dwarf comparable financial districts like London’s Docklands, Shanghai’s Pudong and Tokyo’s Shinjuku.

GIFT is located midway between Gujarat’s two most important cities, Ahmedabad (India’s seventh largest city) and Gandhinagar, and will be linked to both by expressways and mass transit railway systems. The massive development is expected to provide employment for around 500,000 people and homes for about 50,000.

Only 250 of the allotted 500 acres will be developed initially. The total project, including the townships, will be developed over the next 20 years, but the project’s core will lie in the first 250 acres.

Green Building in India 

Sustainable urban development is now a key focus of the construction industry in India, with the industry hitting a boom phase. The Indian real estate sector is growing at an estimated 30% and is expected to be worth US $50 billion by 2010.

Increasingly, developers are incorporating energy efficiency and environmentally friendly systems and processes into their buildings, realizing savings of 40-50% in energy costs and similar reductions in water consumption.

The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) estimates the demand for green building materials and equipment will reach US$4 billion per annum by 2010. Despite the growth there are significant barriers to building green, including the increased costs and design and construction skills required. Although architects have been adopting green principles, a widespread, integrated and holistic approach towards construction of green buildings is still in its early stages.

Projects like GIFT will do much to stimulate this component of the Indian economy.

Further information on the GIFT project is available here.

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For More Information: www.gujintlfintecity.co.in