Narendra Modi's Rs 78,000 cr hi-tech city GIFT to try new concepts; may shape future city technologies
(Narendra Modi's Rs 78,000 cr hi-tech city may shape future city technologies)
AHMEDABAD: Narendra Modi would not have thought ofGujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) as the test-bed for future city technologies, but his dream project in Gandhinagar may well have this interesting spillover. Work on the proposed Rs 78,000-crore nano city has now started, and the first occupant may move in by March.
By the time the first phase is completed in three-and-a-half years, this special economic zone (SEZ) would have tried out, on a small scale, some contemporary urban design ideas.
GIFT would have a command and control centre to monitor the IT infrastructure and respond quickly during emergencies (a fire anywhere, for example, will trigger an automatic response). The city will use the energy-efficient district cooling system instead of air-conditioning. It will also use an automated waste collection system that sucks away garbage from buildings at high speed. Says GIFT Director Ramakant Jha: "We will now try on a pilot scale many technologies that will be used when the city is developed fully."
District cooling, which uses chilled water to cool buildings, is being tried in a few places such as Toronto,Cornell University and Masdar City in Abu Dhabi. Its proponents say the technology consumes 90% less energy compared with traditional air-conditioning.
In automated vacuum waste collection systems, garbage is sorted out and then sucked away at high speed through underground tubes to a central location, which can be as far as 20 km away. It is being used in cities such as London, Montreal, Stockholm and Barcelona. No Indian city has these technologies yet.
source http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-01-05/news/30593348_1_nano-city-gujarat-international-finance-tec-city-waste-collection
