New i-Hub campus set to miss third inauguration deadline next month

The project has HCP Design, Planning, and Management Private Limited as the project management consultant (PMC).

i-Hub transit campus at KCG premises. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)

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After missing two inauguration deadlines, the new ‘state-of-the-art’ campus of i-Hub in Ahmedabad is set to miss its third deadline in May.

The incubation centre, set up under the Student Startup and Innovation Policy (SSIP) by the state’s Education Department, presently functions from a transitory campus at the Knowledge Consortium of Gujarat (KCG). The new campus is also being constructed on the KCG premises. Spread over an area of 15,000 sq m, the five-story campus has been pitched as “a landmark destination for start-ups”. The construction work started in 2020 with a deadline of two years. After the January 2022 deadline was missed, the state government announced its inauguration on May 1, 2022. Later, May 1, 2023, was announced as the fresh date.

The project has HCP Design, Planning, and Management Private Limited as the project management consultant (PMC).

“The completion will take some time… around six months. But we will try to complete it earlier than thart,” Banchha Nidhi Pani, Commissioner of Technical Education, told The Indian Express. Officials in the education department, privy to the matter, revealed the project has been delayed due to “serious objections raised by the state government against the escalated project costs” and “major changes, along with the addition of new items, in the last year”.

Pani confirmed the existing project cost has gone up from Rs 65 crore to Rs 95 crore. While the civil work is complete, he added, the interior work is still pending. On the objections raised by the Finance Department on the project cost, he said, “Interiors like furniture, electronics, communications along with landscaping is pending. The work is cleared and expedited now.”

With state-of-the-art infrastructure and services like futuristic and advanced labs, training partners, flexible and collaborative co-working space single window solution for pre-incubation support, and mentoring funding, the Education Department has been touting i-Hub as the largest facility for start-ups in the state. Against the existing capacity of 50 start-ups and entrepreneurs, the new campus is expected to accommodate more than 1,400.

Ritu Sharma

Ritu Sharma is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express' Gujarat bureau, an editorial position that reflects her experience and Authority in regional journalism. With over a decade of concentrated reporting experience, she is a highly Trustworthy and specialized journalist, especially noted for her Expertise in the education sector across Gujarat and previously Chandigarh. Expertise Primary Authority (Education): With over ten years of dedicated reporting on education in both Gujarat and Chandigarh, Ritu Sharma is a foremost authority on educational policy, institutional governance, and ground realities from "KG to PG." Her coverage includes: Higher Education: In-depth scrutiny of top institutions like IIM-Ahmedabad (controversies over demolition/restoration of heritage architecture), IIT-Bombay (caste discrimination issues), and new initiatives like international branch campuses in GIFT City. Schooling & Policy: Detailed coverage of government schemes (Gyan Sadhana School Voucher Scheme), the implementation and impact of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, teacher recruitment issues, and the impact of national policies like the NEP. Student Welfare: Reporting on critical issues such as suicide allegations due to caste discrimination, and the challenges faced by students (e.g., non-delivery of NAMO tablets). ... Read More

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