Gujarat Infrastructure



Gujarat, the westernmost state of India, houses some of the biggest industries of the country. Gujarat infrastructure is quite developed and accommodates a number of industries. The major industrial and infrastructural hubs of the state include Surat, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Vadodara, Bhavnagar, and Jamnagar.

The state of the art infrastructure projects have helped Gujarat become one of the richest and most developed states in the country. The various industries in the state depend on the infrastructure sectors significantly.

The state’s contribution to the country in various industries is as follows:
  • 23% of onshore fossil oil production
  • 35% of petrochemical production
  • 27% of groundnut production
  • 41% of chemical goods
  • 11% of cotton production
  • 15% of freight handling
  • 18% of mineral production
  • 30% of onshore natural gas
  • 26% of pharmaceutical goods
  • 25% of cloth production
Petroleum and cement are the major industrial goods of the state. The biggest ship breaking yard is located at Alang near Bhavnagar. The state is affluent in minerals like gypsum, calcite, lignite, manganese, limestone, bauxite, feldspar, agate, and quartz sand.

Major industries of Gujarat



The major industries of the state include the following:
  • Engineering
  • Cloth making
  • Petrochemicals
  • Chemicals
  • Pharmaceuticals and drugs
  • Ceramics and cement
  • Dairy
  • Ornaments and precious stones

Gujarat Infrastructure Sectors: An Overview



The major infrastructure sectors in the state are as follows:
Gujarat is the first state in India which ratified the Gujarat Infrastructure Development Act. The Government did this to support investments in infrastructure projects. In 1995, the Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB) was established by way of this act. This organization helps in the influx of funds from the private sector companies to the infrastructure industry and synchronizes the functioning of different agencies.

Education Infrastructure in Gujarat



The literacy rate of Gujarat is 69.1% and it surpasses the countrywide mean of 65.38%. The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, which is also popularly known as IIM-A, is situated in this state. It is a top business school in the country. Other renowned academic institutions include the following:
  • National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)
  • National Institute of Design (NID)
  • Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDI)
The state of Gujarat houses 26 management schools, 25 engineering colleges, and 300 technical institutes. The state government has chalked out strategies for setting up a shipbuilding university in the Kutch district. They are also planning to establish academic institutes in the following subject areas:
  • Port management
  • Marine engineering
  • Fisheries and fish processing
  • Design of precious stones and ornaments
  • Disaster management
  • Urban planning
  • Biotechnology

Healthcare Infrastructure in Gujarat



A number of private public partnership projects are taking place in the healthcare sector in the state. At present, the state is home to 1,072 primary health centres (PHC), 13 medical colleges, 273 community health centres (CHC), 7,274 sub centres, and 85 mobile healthcare divisions. The government has launched the Chiranjeevi Scheme for the purpose of lowering the infant and maternal mortality rate. Private sector and public sector companies will collectively work under this plan and the plan is aimed at financially weaker segments of the society. The table given below will provide a better idea about the success of the Chiranjeevi Scheme:

Area 2005 2007
Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) 64 54 (till the month of August)
Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) 389 172 (till the month of August)

  • Number of deliveries by private specialists - 95,066 (till the month of August 2007)
  • Number of private specialists joined - 801 (till the month of August 2007)
  • Lives saved by the Chiranjeevi Scheme - 3,443 infants and 548 mothers

Telecommunications Infrastructure in Gujarat



The state has made commendable advancements in the field of telecommunications and some of the highlights of its success are given below:
  • Every one of the district headquarters is facilitated with the back-up assistance of mobile V-SAT terminals.
  • GSWAN or Gujarat State Wide Area Network is the second biggest IP-oriented WAN in the world, linking more than 2,800 public sector organizations.
  • Currently, the redressal of complaints of customers can be performed on the Internet with the SWAGAT (State Wide Grievance Attention on public grievances by application of Technology).
  • There are over 7,500 voice connections in the Secretariat Integrated Communication Network (SICN).
  • The Integrated Work Flow and Document Management System (IWDMS) have assisted in reshuffling the method of records keeping in the public sector organizations.

Port Infrastructure in Gujarat



The state of Gujarat features an extensive shoreline of 1,600 km and there are 42 ports that are operational and manage more than 80% of port traffic in India.

The small ports in the state manage 20% of the overall freight of the country.

The biggest freight-managing port in the state is the Kandla port. Other than this, the state houses 14 direct berthing captive port terminals, six direct berthing commercial harbors, and 11 lighter age freight ports. It has been projected that by 2015, the ports of the state will manage 39% of the overall freight of the nation.

Tourism Infrastructure in Gujarat



The westernmost state in India can be depicted as a traveler’s paradise. The state provides a broad variety of tourism sectors that reflect the culture and tradition of this state. A number of tourism infrastructure projects are underway which include the following:
  • Dholavira – Kutch
  • Mandvi – Kutch
  • Champaner – Panchmahal
  • Somnath and Sasangir – Junagadh
  • Dwarka – Jamnagar
Currently, 24 ecotourism plans are being considered by the government.

Transportation Infrastructure in Gujarat



The state features an extensive roadways network which covers around 74,000 km. The state is well joined with railways as well and houses 5,310 km of rail lines. The roadways network comprises state highways (spanning 18,738 Km), national highways (spanning 2,781 Km), and expressways (covering 93 Km). The goal of the state is to enhance the network and get it to 114,866 Km. Various BOT (Build Own Transfer) and BOOT (Build Own Operate Transfer) projects have been undertaken in the railways and roadways infrastructure sector.

Industrial Infrastructure



Till date, 168 industrial estates have been established by the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) and another 106 are in pipeline. Special Economic Zones have been established at Surat and Kandla. At present, 55 SEZs are in pipeline. Gandhinagar houses a Software Technology Park.

Bus Rapid Transit System



Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB,) Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA), and the state government are collectively executing the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in the state.

Power Infrastructure in Gujarat



Power is integral to infrastructure projects and Gujarat’s performance of power generation and distribution has been remarkable. According to the statistics of 2007-2008, the state has the capacity of generating 17,403 MW of power, which obviously includes capacity of captive power generation. The state marketed excess power to 12 states and they are the following:
  • Tamil Nadu
  • Rajasthan
  • Maharashtra
  • Uttar Pradesh
  • Delhi
  • Andhra Pradesh
  • Karnataka
  • Haryana
  • Uttarakhand
  • Chhattisgarh
  • West Bengal
  • Madhya Pradesh
The state is the biggest producer of natural gas in the country and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) has around 42 petroleum and natural gas fields throughout India.

CNG Projects (Urban infrastructure)



Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) has substituted conventional fuel used in auto rickshaws and buses. There are 90 CNG stations in the state and almost 31,513 CNG auto rickshaws and 535 CNG buses are running. In Ahmedabad, it is compulsory to operate just CNG run auto rickshaws.

Water Infrastructure



Water conservation in the state is performed through the following:
  • 35,379 bori bandhs (dams constructed by sand bags)
  • 87,179 check dams (tiny barrier built over streams with a flow of at least 1 cusec following the rainy season)
  • 5,551 dug out ponds.
  • 1,30,262 agricultural ponds (khet talavadi)

Private Public Partnerships in Gujarat



A number of private public partnership (PPP) projects have been undertaken in various infrastructure projects in Gujarat and they are as follows:
  • Port Sector
  • Road Sector
  • Power Sector
  • Railways Sector
  • Road Transport Sector
  • IT & ITES Biotech Sector
  • Water Sector
  • Urban Development Sector
  • Aviation Sector
  • ULB Urban Development Sector
  • Other Infra Project Sector
  • Slum rehabilitation

Energy


The basic thing required to run an industry is the energy, because if there is no energy, the machineries will not operate and hence the whole industry will come to stand still. The government of Gujarat has ensured its industries of continuous and cheap supply of electricity for its smooth growth.

Power


Gujarat is one of the largest power generator in India as it has got many natural gas resources beneath its land. Power is generated from these natural gases and then used by different industries as energy. Power is generated at power stations. Power is the force behind the working of every machine.
The Gujarat state government have also planned to set up police stations in different zones of Gujarat so as to keep a check on power thefts. The first of its kind police station for power thefts have been set up in Rajkot. Moreover, a 1500 kilometer long gas-grid is being laid to extract more and more natural gas for converting it into power.

Telecommunication


Gujarat has an enviable telecommunications network. Every part of Gujarat state is now connected-either by land line or mobile. The basic telephonic structure of Gujarat state comprises more than 3.5 million landlines, translating into an impressive teledensity of 9 including the services of BSNL and other two private operators namely Tata Teleservices and Reliance Infocomm.
Gujarat has abundant energy resources for it is the producer of natural gas and has plans to utilize this gas for power production which in turn would be absorbed as energy by the industries. Underground gas reserves have been found near Ahmedabad and other places. All this is going to produce more energy in Gujarat for public as well as private consumption.



Last Updated on : 09 January 2013