The Dholera Activation Area: The City's First Phase
Almost everything actually built in Dholera so far sits in the Activation Area. Understand this zone and you understand where the city really is today.
What the Activation Area is
The Activation Area is the roughly 22.5 sq km phase-1 plug-and-play zone inside Town Planning Scheme 2, where the trunk infrastructure was built first. DURABLE The NICDC ledger reports its trunk infrastructure works as complete. REPORTED It is about 4.25% of the developable land. An older 2020 target of about 120,000 residents and 80,000 jobs for this zone has lapsed.
The Activation Area (~22.5 sq km) is about 4.25% of the developable land (~580 sq km). DURABLE It is the first phase built out, which is why it holds the ABCD building, the trunk utilities and most of the on-ground progress so far.
The infrastructure built there
In the Activation Area, the reported build includes underground utilities (power, ICT and fibre ducts, piped natural gas, potable water with smart meters and leak detection), a recycled-water network, stormwater into a 6.5 km canal, a water treatment plant of about 50 MLD, and about 72 km of internal roads (18 to 70 m wide) with pedestrian and cycle lanes and a reserved rapid-transit corridor. REPORTED
The Integrated Command and Control Centre in the ABCD building runs utilities and safety. Some promoted features (a common walkable utility tunnel, district cooling) are not officially confirmed, so we flag them as promotional.
Per the sanctioned plan profile (under construction): Power 3 x 66 kV substations, 400/220 kV transmission (70 km + 30 km), 115 km underground power duct. Potable water 100 MLD available, 50 MLD treatment plant, 10 ML reservoir, 82 km pipeline, non-revenue water under 5%. REPORTED
Recycled water 10 MLD STP, 20 MLD CETP, 81 km recycled pipeline. Solid waste 25 TPD segregation, 30 TPD bio-methanation, two 25 TPD incinerators and a 28-ha integrated landfill. REPORTED These are sanctioned-plan figures, base around 2016.
Roads and water
The Activation Area has about 72 km of internal roads, ranging 18 to 70 m wide, with pedestrian and cycle lanes and a reserved rapid-transit corridor. REPORTED A central spine road runs through the SIR, and proximity to it is a value driver for plots.
The Activation Area plan provides about 100 MLD potable water available with a 50 MLD treatment plant, a 10 ML reservoir and 82 km of pipeline. REPORTED Beyond that zone, the SIR-wide water requirement is officially stated as still unknown, and current desalination is only about 20 MLD with a 200 MLD plant at consultant stage. REPORTED So near-term water is planned for the built zone; long-range supply is not yet settled.
The government spend
The Government of India approved infrastructure tender packages worth Rs 2,784.83 crore in five packages for the Activation Area, and matching equity of Rs 2,784.83 crore has been released, with 48.31 sq km transferred to DICDL. REPORTED This is the concrete, government-released figure for the Activation Area, and we use it instead of any broker cumulative headline.
FAQ
What is the Activation Area?
The Activation Area is the roughly 22.5 sq km phase-1 plug-and-play zone inside Town Planning Scheme 2, where the trunk infrastructure was built first. DURABLE The NICDC ledger reports its trunk infrastructure works as complete. REPORTED It is about 4.25% of the developable land. An older 2020 target of about 120,000 residents and 80,000 jobs for this zone has lapsed.
What makes Dholera a smart city?
In the Activation Area, the reported build includes underground utilities (power, ICT and fibre ducts, piped natural gas, potable water with smart meters and leak detection), a recycled-water network, stormwater into a 6.5 km canal, a water treatment plant of about 50 MLD, and about 72 km of internal roads (18 to 70 m wide) with pedestrian and cycle lanes and a reserved rapid-transit corridor. REPORTED
The Integrated Command and Control Centre in the ABCD building runs utilities and safety. Some promoted features (a common walkable utility tunnel, district cooling) are not officially confirmed, so we flag them as promotional.