Dholera is a village in Ahmedabad district of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

state in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

History

Dholera was also an ancient port-city in

Gulf of Khambhat The Gulf of Khambhat, historically known as the Gulf of Cambay, is a bay on the Arabian Sea coast of India, bordering the state of Gujarat just north of Mumbai and Diu Island. The Gulf of Khambhat is about long, about wide in the north and u ...

, 30 km. from

Dhandhuka Dhandhuka is a city and a municipality in the Ahmedabad district in the state of Gujarat, India. Moreover, it is a part of the Bhal region. Dhandhuka is said to have been founded by, and to take its name from, Koli Dhana Mer, or rather Mehd, the ...

village of Ahmedabad district.

Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Dholera Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Dholera is a Hindu temple in Dholera, Gujarat, India, and is one of six Shri Swaminarayan Temples built by Swaminarayan. About the Mandir Dholera itself is an ancient port-city, 30 km from Dhandhuka of Ahmeda ...

is one of the six temples built by Swaminarayan. Since 2011, the Government of Gujarat has been making plans to develop a smart city at Bhal area. The economic viability of the project has been questioned by farmer organisations. Several investors who initially signed the Memorandum of Understanding to develop the project, have withdrawn and refused to invest.But in the last few years, many National and International companies signed the Memorandum of Understanding to setup their projects in Dholera SIR like Tata Solar, ReNew, Mahindra, Reliance, Adani etc.

Geography

The region is located in a low lying area and is flood prone. In August 2019, the area was waterlogged and remained cut off from other cities for three days.

Planned infrastructure

Gujarat Government has proposed a new International Airport for Ahmedabad city at Fedara. The proposed international airport is to be strategically located near the planned

SEZ A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...

project of the

Adani Group Adani Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate, headquartered in Ahmedabad. It was founded by Gautam Adani in 1988 as a commodity trading business, with the flagship company Adani Enterprises. The Group's diverse businesses include po ...

at Dholera. A new seaport was initially proposed, but the plans have been abandoned. In January 2021 a monorail project to link Ahmedabad and the Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) was approved. The Rs 6,000 crore Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) will run parallel to the expressway and have seven stations.

Dholera Airport (planned)

The

greenfield airport A greenfield airport is an aviation facility with greenfield project characteristics. The designation reflects certain environmental qualities (using previously undeveloped or empty greenfield land, for example) and commissioning, planning and cons ...

is planned to be built near Navagam in the Dholera taluka of Ahmedabad district. The project site will be spread over on 1,426 hectares near village Navagam in Dholera taluka about 80 km from Ahmedabad and around 20 km from the Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR). The Airports Authority of India (AAI) inspected the site in January 2010 to carry out a techno-economical feasibility study and gave its technical clearance. The Dholera International Airport Company Ltd (DIACL) was founded in 2013 to develop the airport. The central government approved the site in July 2014, the Environment Ministry gave its approval in December 2015. In 2021, the Airport Authority of India released a Rs. 987 crore tender for Phase 1 of airport project. The airport will have a 3,200 metre long runway suitable for 4E category aircraft. The airport is expected to cater to not only DSIR and its hinterland, but also to traffic overflow from the Ahmedabad international airport. The Gujarat government has allocated 1427 hectares of land for the said project and 75 hectares of government land, has been allocated for commercial development.

References

History of Gujarat Swaminarayan Sampradaya Villages in Ahmedabad district Proposed infrastructure in Gujarat Economy of Gujarat Planned cities in India Settlements in Gujarat {{Ahmedabad-geo-stub