Ahmedabad’s successful bid to stage the 2030 Commonwealth Games (CWG) has once again put GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec) City, the state’s flagship financial and commercial hub, in the spotlight. Officials and industry leaders are of the opinion that the global event, along with the overall economic trends, is fast-tracking the next stage of the growth in India’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
The notion of constructing an international financial centre from scratch was born in 2007 when the then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi came up with the idea. After the initial years which were characterized by slow progress and policy hurdles, the state government transformed the project into a fully state-owned company, thus giving it more direct administrative control and better long-term funding prospects.
By 2011, the state had identified and acquired a contiguous 3-sq-km (900-acre) plot along the Sabarmati river. Roads, a riverfront edge, and India’s most advanced underground utility systems were put in place, thus laying the physical foundations of the country’s most meticulously engineered smart city.
The Centre’s establishment of the International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA) in 2020, which acts as a single regulator for banking, insurance, funds, aircraft leasing, and other offshore financial services, marked the decisive change.
This regulatory clarity triggered a steady flow of global institutions into the IFSC zone. Today, the district hosts 35 global banks and 320 investment funds managed by 97 fund managers. K Rajaraman, Chairman of the IFSCA and former Union Finance Secretary, said, “Entities operating out of the IFSC have raised more than $58 billion for India so far.” He added that the area’s tax framework—including a 10-out-of-15-year income-tax holiday—is “aligned with Singapore”.
City Gains Momentum as Global Events Near
Approximately 25 structures throughout GIFT City are functioning and are almost fully inhabited, which has resulted in a daily footfall of about 27,000 people. In addition, 37 more towers are being built. Although the city continues to be mainly a place of work, the residential area is gradually increasing: close to 930 residences have been completed, and more than 7,000 apartments are being built.
Yogesh C Bhavsar, President of the National Real Estate Development Council (Gujarat), said that with Ahmedabad’s real estate market now “nearly 60–70% saturated,” a combination of the upcoming Commonwealth Games, foreign universities opening campuses, and organic urbanisation will accelerate GIFT City’s expansion.
Urban Density Comparable to Navi Mumbai
City planners are gearing up for rapid population growth. “The long-term target is to eventually accommodate a density of about 250,000 people per square kilometre, comparable to Navi Mumbai’s,” said Loveleen Garg, chief planner and vice president (Planning), GIFT City. t is a big move to change the face of the commercial district into a livable, compact city that would be able to attract residents and thus not be just a daily workplace.
After setting up most of the hard infrastructure, GIFT City is now turning to the development of public spaces, social amenities, and recreation areas.
A 27-acre Central Park is being developed along the extended riverfront. It will have soccer, box cricket, pickleball, and basketball courts, a golf driving range, jogging and cycling tracks, plazas, lawns, and an amphitheatre. There is also a plan for a food zone with restaurants and kiosks that will attract workers and residents to the common recreational areas.
As per Hindustan Times, retailers say footfall is gradually expanding. Hiran Shah, who runs Capital Russian Bakery in GIFT City, said demand for retail spaces was rising. “We see one or two new families moving in every day. Currently, the two occupied residential towers—Shobha and SJ Sangath—are around 30% full. Most of my customers are office-goers,” he said. Shah commutes 55 km daily from Ahmedabad’s Shilaj area to run his bakery.
Lack of Street Life Still a Concern
For now, the city’s social ecosystem remains underdeveloped. Enhanced connectivity is expected to be the major factor that will propel GIFT City to the next level of its development, according to the officials. It has been decided to build metro stations at the two new locations which lie underneath the Ahmedabad–Gandhinagar metro line extension.
GIFT City will also be linked to the Sabarmati high-speed rail terminal. After the bullet train will be running on the Mumbai–Ahmedabad route, the time required to cover the distance between GIFT City and Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex is likely to be around two hours and fifteen minutes.
A key differentiator for GIFT City is its underground utility infrastructure. Beneath the city runs a utility tunnel described by officials as its “nervous system”. It carries power lines, fibre cables, potable and recycled water pipelines, district cooling networks and automated waste ducts.
About 5.5–5.7 km of the planned 16 km tunnel network is complete. “All repairs occur inside the tunnel, keeping the surface completely digging-free,” said Anil Parmar, Vice President at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City
Half the City Expected to Be Built in Three Years
GIFT City’s masterplan permits 62 million sq ft of built-up space. Currently, around 10% is physically complete, but development rights for nearly half—29.47 million sq ft—have already been allotted. “Based on ongoing work, we expect about 50% of the entire project’s capacity to be physically built within three years,” said Nisarg Acharya, head of commercial at GIFT City Company Limited.
With the 2030 Commonwealth Games set to place Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar on the global stage, officials and industry leaders believe GIFT City will see accelerated construction, investment and residential activity—shifting closer to the full-fledged global financial hub envisioned nearly two decades ago.
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