The Sabarmati Riverfront Project will enhance the distinctive character of Ahmedabad, significantly improving the quality of life for residents and enhancing Ahmedabad’s value as a destination for new employers, institutions, investment, education opportunities, and tourism.
About Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad, Gujarat :
The Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project is an environmental improvement, social uplift and urban rejuvenation project that will renew Ahmedabad. The project is being developed by the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Ltd. (SRFDCL), a company wholly owned by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.The project will reclaim approximately 200 hectares of land from the riverbed. To reclaim the land, protect low lying developments from floods, and to prevent erosion of the river banks, retaining walls have been built on both sides of the river. Since Sabarmati is a seasonal river, water is channeled into the river from Narmada canal, which intersects the river upstream from Ahmedabad and is retained in the river using the Vasna Barrage which is located downstream. To prevent untreated sewage from flowing into the river, two sewage interceptor lines with new pumping stations have been constructed along both the reclaimed banks. These lines carry untreated sewage to the augmented sewage treatment plants south of Vasna Barrage. Slum dwellers living on the riverbed, and affected by the project, will be relocated and provided with ‘pucca’ housing with secured tenure.The reclaimed land will make Ahmedabad’s riverfront, a public asset. For better access to the riverfront and facilities built along it, a number of streets leading up to the river will be strengthened. Many more will be added so that people can easily walk up to the river. The project will provide Ahmedabad with 11.5 km long pedestrian promenades at the water’s edge along both the banks of the river. In addition to the promenade, many new parks and gardens will be built on the reclaimed land. Many new public facilities will be built on the reclaimed land: cultural centers, museums, sports facilities, trade fair grounds and open air markets. A small portion of the reclaimed land will be sold for private commercial and residential developments. The sale of the reclaimed land will finance the project. The project has won Prime Minister’s National Award for Excellence in Urban Planning and Design in the year of 2003.
Inception :
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) set up the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Ltd (SRFDCL) in May 1997, with a mission “to revivify the city centre by reconnecting it to the river”. The AMC appointed the Environment Planning Collaborative (EPC), an Ahmedabad-based urban planning consultancy firm, to prepare a plan.
History :
In the first phase, EPC identified a 9km stretch of the riverfront extending from Subhash bridge to Vasna barrage and proposed to reclaim 162 hectares (400 acres) of the riverbed. SRFDCL planned to sell or lease out a part of it to finance the project. In 2003, it extended the project to cover a 20km stretch from the Narmada main canal to Vasna barrage.
Great Public Spaces :
The Riverfront Development reclaims the banks of the Sabarmati, making the entire stretch of river publicly accessible. The project provides more than ten kilometers of uninterrupted pedestrian promenade on each bank and public ghats for direct access to the water.
Land reclaimed by riverfront development will largely be allocated for free and open public use; more than 85% of riverfront land will become public infrastructure, recreational parks, sports facilities, and vast new gardens.
Parts of these public areas will include new space for cultural and civic institutions: including museums, monuments, performance venues, and exhibition space to significantly enhance the availability of civic amenities.
The Sabarmati Riverfront will also permanently upgrade iconic informal markets, create vibrant new spaces for residents and tourists to converge, attend outdoor events, participate in water-related recreation, and enjoy leisure activities.
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