ગુજરાતી
English
Ahmedabad, 17 January 2026
The controversy surrounding the allocation of land to Chinese companies for an industrial park in Dholera, Gujarat, has resurfaced. A secret meeting between the Chinese Communist Party and BJP and RSS leaders at the BJP office has sent ripples across the country.
Consequently, the Congress party has alleged that the BJP has given land to a Chinese company in Dholera. The BJP has a long-standing relationship with China.
According to the agreement in Dholera, the BJP government had signed two types of MoUs with the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (CASME) in Gandhinagar for the China Industrial Park.
These agreements were signed on September 30, 2019, in the presence of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, after receiving approval from the central government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The agreements were signed by the Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary and Industries Principal Secretary M.K. Das and Wendong Yi, Vice President of CASME Investment Management Group.
Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Gujarat in 2014, and a high-level delegation from Gujarat visited China in 2015. Chinese industrialists were expected to invest heavily in Gujarat.
The Chinese industrialists were to establish pollution-free and high-tech industries in this park. By 2022, the Chinese industrialists were expected to complete the necessary processes for their plants and units and begin production in the state.
Dholera Industrial City Development Limited was tasked with providing plug-and-play infrastructure for this purpose and assisting the Chinese industrialists in obtaining the necessary permits to start their industries.
A total of 15,000 young people were also expected to receive direct and indirect employment opportunities locally.
The government’s hope that it could proceed with this project, which would create 15,000 jobs, based on the state of relations between India and China, has now been dashed.
The China Industrial Park project in the Dholera Special Investment Region of Gujarat was worth Rs 10,500 crore. The state government has not yet clarified whether to continue or cancel this project. Officials from the Industries Department said that the decision is political, and therefore, it will be handled politically.
Chinese industrialists were supposed to set up pollution-free and high-tech industries in the park.
The area-wise distribution of all zones in the Dholera Smart City project is as follows:
Zone – Area
Community Amenities – 8%
High Access Corridor – 4%
Industrial Zone – 47%
Entertainment and Sports – 3%
Residential Zone – 28%
Roads – 6%
Tourism – 3%
Others – 1%
The Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR) Smart City project helps the state government designate an area of more than 100 sq. KM and more than 50 sq. KM as an SIR. The Dholera SIR is a project covering an area of 920 sq. KM. The entire area of the Dholera SIR project covers 22 villages of Dholera.
The industrial infrastructure setup in the Dholera Smart City project will cater to both local and international markets. Most importantly, the logistics support in this project will be very dedicated and continuous, i.e., without any interruptions, as it is located in the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) area.
Dholera Smart City is divided into different areas with all the advantages. Therefore, great planning for a smart life can be highly relied upon. The list is as follows:
City Center
250-meter Expressway
Sports Zone
Knowledge and IT Zone
Green Zone
High Access Corridor
In addition to these, the completion of the Dholera Smart City project will also boost industries. It promotes a clean environment without any pollution. Furthermore, it can be a major contributing factor to India’s development. Industries in Dholera Smart City
Some of the major industries coming to Dholera Smart City are:
Electronics
Aviation
Auto and Auto Ancillaries
Heavy Engineering
Defense
High-Tech Emerging Technologies
General Manufacturing
Agro and Food Processing
Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
Metals and Metal Products
Government Funding for the Dholera Project
The Dholera Smart City project is a flagship project of the Government of India. Therefore, there is a dedicated allocation of funds for this project. Furthermore, there is no specific timeline set for its final completion. The essential projects in Phase 1 are the ABCD Enclave and ABCD Greens.
Details of Essential Financial Resources
The cost of this development project for one section is Rs. 20,000 crore.
The total cost is estimated to be approximately Rs. 57,000 crore.
The budget allocation for the contractor, L&T, is approximately Rs. 1,734 crore. Approximately Rs. 3000 crore for the development of the first phase.
Cube Construction Engineering Limited has been awarded Rs. 72.31 crore for constructing the ABCD building.
The government has allocated Rs. 7,000 crore for building a high-speed metro in the heart of Dholera.
The ISCON Group is planning to invest Rs. 21,300 crore for the development of Dholera Smart City. They have been allotted five hundred acres of land for this project.
The companies involved in this work include China’s Tsingshan Industry and its local partner Chrome Steels. The land is expected to receive the necessary commissioning within the next three years.
Phases of the Dholera Smart City Project
The development of Dholera Smart City will take place in several phases. Phase 1 of the project will include Town Planning Schemes 1 and 2. Town Plan
The estimated area covered under Town Planning Scheme 1 is 51 sq km. On the other hand, the estimated area for Town Planning Scheme 2 is 102 sq km.
However, the total area of this project will also include a 250-meter stretch of the planned expressway. This road will connect Ahmedabad, Dholera, and Bhavnagar.
The connectivity between the two will be further enhanced by 110 km. Therefore, the people of Gujarat will benefit in the long run after the completion of this mega project.
Phase 1
Phase 1 of the Dholera Smart City project is expected to be completed by 2024. However, the activation area, which will mostly be an industrial area and spans approximately 22.5 sq. km, is still under construction and will be operational soon.
Construction of Phase 1 of the Dholera International Airport began in 2022 and is expected to be completed by 2024 or 2025. The construction of the Ahmedabad to Dholera Greenfield Expressway will also be completed around the same time.
Phase 2
Under Phase 2 of the Dholera Smart City project, work will be done on Town Planning Schemes 3 and 4. The area covered under Town Planning Scheme 3 is approximately 66.60 sq. km, and the development area for Town Planning Scheme 4 will be approximately 60 sq. km. However, Phase 2 of the project will only begin after the completion of Phase 1.
Phase 3
Phase 3 of the Dholera Smart City project will commence after the completion of Phase 2. Phase 3 is divided into Town Planning Schemes 5 and 6. The area developed under Town Planning Scheme 5 will be approximately 74.75 sq. km, and for Town Planning Scheme 6, it will be 67.63 sq. km.
The entire smart city project is expected to be completed by 2042 or later. However, with the completion of each phase, both residential, commercial, and industrial zones will be opened to the general public. List of Projects Under Dholera City Banner
Here is a short list of projects that are nearing completion. The Dholera Smart City area is truly vast. It will feature many interesting buildings with a pleasant environment. The complex will include gardens, parks, schools, smooth roads, a nearby metro, shopping centers, movie theaters, and much more. Therefore, this project will be a brilliant idea for the Central Government. This massive project has several components:
ABCD Greens I
ABCD Greens II
ABCD Enclave I
ABCD Enclave II
ABCD Enclave III
All these five structures fall under Phase 1 of the development. Phase 1 of Dholera Smart City is almost complete. The second phase includes these names:
Expressway Commercial Park 2
Expressway Commercial Park 3
Expressway Commercial Park 4
Of all the names mentioned above, only Expressway Commercial Park 2 is associated with Town Planning 1. The rest are associated with Town Planning 2. Say goodbye to old apartments and embrace new smart homes with exclusive features.
Dholera Smart City – Mega Projects
The development of some of the largest projects in Dholera city will transform it into Dholera Smart City. The list of these mega projects is as follows:
Dholera SIR Project: The Dholera Special Investment Region is a major project under the Dholera Smart City initiative by the Government of Gujarat. This project spans an area of approximately 920 sq km.
ABCD Building Dholera SIR: The Administrative and Business Hub of Dholera will serve as the command and control center for the entire Dholera Smart City. It will house the offices of Dholera Industrial City Development Limited, Dholera SIR Development Authority, and Dholera International Airport Company Limited, among others.
Dholera International Airport: The Airports Authority of India is constructing the Dholera International Airport in Navagam, a village near Ahmedabad. This project will be a greenfield airport. This project is a crucial part of the Dholera Smart City project. Dholera Metro Rail: This metro rail project will connect Dholera SIR, located in Dholera Smart City, to Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar via a high-speed metro rail. (Google translation from Gujarati)
