109 km Ahmedabad – Dholera Expressway to be completed by May 2025 : MoS Vishwakarma
AHMEDABAD : The 109 km long Ahmedabad-Dholera Expressway, being developed by the Central Government, is targeted to be completed by May 2025, stated the Minister of State Shri Jagdish Vishwakarma in the Gujarat Assembly on Monday.
Replying to a question in the state assembly, MoS Vishwakarma mentioned that approximately 35 lakh cubic meters of recycled waste will be used for embankment construction. Out of the 80-acre waste dump in Ahmedabad, 29 acres will be cleared as part of this initiative. Additionally, about 173.82 lakh cubic meters of fly ash from different thermal power stations will be utilized in the construction.
A green belt will be developed along both sides of the expressway, with 97,195 trees to be planted over 97.19 hectares. To ensure safe wildlife movement, a 4.50m x 7m wildlife crossing has also been planned.
The expressway has been designed to handle approximately 25,000 vehicles daily, with a maximum speed limit of 120 km/h. Keeping future needs in mind, provisions have been made to expand it from four lanes to twelve lanes. Additionally, a cloverleaf interchange similar to Adalaj has been planned for improved local connectivity.
Talking about the way from the Ahmedabad-Dholera Expressway to Dholera International Airport, he stated that a 9.56 km long link road will be constructed under the Greenfield Alignment at a cost of ₹550.49 crore.
Providing details about Dholera SIR, the Minister said that a Greenfield Industrial Smart City is being developed as the Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR) over an area of approximately 920 square kilometers in Ahmedabad district. In the first phase, development work has been undertaken in an area of 153 square kilometers.
Minister Vishwakarma further stated that a solar cell and solar module manufacturing facility has been established at Dholera SIR by ReNew, and Tata Power has set up a 300 MW solar plant.
Similarly, Polycab is constructing an electronic equipment manufacturing unit, and Tata Semiconductor Manufacturing Pvt. Ltd. is building the country’s first commercial semiconductor fabrication facility. The Minister added that Dholera SIR is expected to generate approximately 8 lakh jobs in the future.
Vishwakarma said that, as part of the infrastructure required for Dholera SIR, plans are in place to construct a freight rail link from Bhimnath to Dholera SIR, along with the Ahmedabad-Dholera Expressway, the Ahmedabad-Dholera Metro Rail Transport, and a dedicated freight corridor.