As Ahmedabad races to host 2030 Commonwealth, policy for expos, concerts, new hotels in the works: Gujarat Deputy CM

Sanghavi said the state government was moving ahead to make Ahmedabad the sports capital by adding new infrastructure. But, he added, the government was also working on the sustainability of this infrastructure.

“If we make seven-eight stadiums for the Commonwealth (Games) or Olympics, they will become dilapidated in the event of lying vacant. And lakhs and crores of rupees invested in them will become zero. So first of all, we have worked on ensuring their sustainability,” Sanghavi said.

He said some of the facilities were being created at police training centres so that they could be used in future for the training of thousands of new police recruits.

Similarly, the deputy CM said, the three stadiums coming up near the Narendra Modi Stadium could be made ready for concerts. Moreover, the government is also planning to give some plots for building hotels there.

“So, in the coming days, along with concerts, we are also developing opportunities for (conducting) expos. Because if we make a stadium and cannot utilise it for 100 out of 365 days, then it will not remain sustainable. So, along with infrastructure planning, we are also moving ahead with the planning of sustainability…In that direction, we are bringing a new policy regarding holding concerts, expos. Very soon, we are also bringing a new policy for those who want to establish hotels in Gujarat,” Sanghavi said, and added that the stadiums were planned not merely for organising the Games.

Replying to another question on the future of Gujarat in the manufacturing sector, Sanghavi said, along with textile, pharma, chemical, and the likes, the state government was also seriously focusing on sunrise sectors such as data centre, semiconductor, defence, etc.

In this context, Sanghavi, who also handles the industry portfolio, said in the next 2-3 years, Gujarat would be getting more investments for data centres than any other state in the country.

Earlier, the gathering was addressed by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.

The interactive session was moderated by Gokul Jaykrishna from FICCI Gujarat State Council, even as senior industry leaders like Pankaj Patel from Zydus LifeSciences Limited, Pranav Adani from Adani Enterprises and FICCI Chairman Anant Goenka took part in it.