Report on Industrial Visit to GIFT City by Second year students

        On 15th September, 2016, the Civil Engineering Department of G. H. Patel College of Engineering and Technology organized an industrial visit to GIFT city, Gandhinagar for students of 2nd year civil engineering, under the celebration of IGBC week. The main objective behind this visit was to make students aware about the recent developments in the field of Smart cities and accommodating them with the latest concepts of Green Buildings. On 15th Sept. 50 students along with two faculties of Civil Engineering Department, Prof. Krunali Patel and Prof. Ratan Panchal left the college campus at 9:30 a.m. Initially, a visit to Sabarmati Riverfront was also to be made. Although, due to Ganesh visarjan activities going on in the city of Ahmedabad, we visited Mahatama Mandir instead. Located in Gandhinagar, Mahatama Mandir is developed by the Government of Gujarat. We reached there at around 11:30 and were taken to visit the Salt Mound Memorial. It is a concrete dome structure which is constructed representing salt mound houses, a museum, a library and a research center. The memorial provides real life experience of Gandhian era. There are exhibits related to Gandhiji's life at the Gandhi Kutir. The structure is equipped with modern technology with the best depictions from the time of Gandhiji?s birth, his studies abroad, his personal life, his time in jail and the part he played in major assemblies during the British rule. In an hour and a half, we were well informed about the Gandhian principles and how he encouraged everyone to live an ideal life by not eating meat, not drinking and never telling a lie. It was a visit worth its while and the Salt Mound Memorial holds a respectable place among the best constructed structures in the state of Gujarat. After having lunch near Info city, Gandhinagar, we reached the GIFT city at around 3:30 pm. GIFT city stands for Gujarat International Finance Tech-City. It is a smart city currently developing in a total land mass of 886 acres between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar on the banks of river Sabarmati. As we entered the premises of the GIFT city, we were welcomed by the sight of two skyscrapers which are named GIFT-1 and GIFT-2. We met Mr. Lovleen Garg, Asst. Vice President, GIFT city, in the reception area of GIFT-1. It was a spacious area with the tallest glass windows for better lighting. He informed us about the basics of the infrastructure of GIFT cityand the developing sites. The GIFT city is a Public Private Partnership project. The two buildings GIFT-1 and GIFT-2 are 28 stories high and completely constructed. Another Hiranandani tower is under construction. It will be a 16 storey high building. Mr. Garg explained us the importance of GIFT city as a finance and IT services hub in India. GIFT city is a first of its kind in India and is designed to stand eye to eye with globally benchmarked financial centers at Tokyo, Singapore, etc. In GIFT city, 226 acres of land is specifically allotted as economic zone. It is denoted as SEZ (Special Economic Zone) and will hold the first center for IFSC (International Financial System Code) in India. There is also a space allotted for building of the first World Trade Centre of India. The GIFT city is expected to become a contemporary model development in India using sustainable and ecological methods. After the introduction by Mr. Garg, we were taken to see the different developing sectors of the GIFT city by Mr. Parth. The construction of GIFT city started in the year 2010. Mr. Parth informed us regarding the structure of the skyscrapers and how they are surrounded by little elevations of land in the front for percolation of water. All the roads in GIFT city have trees planted on both sides. The roads are provided with LED lights as street lights which saves more power. The development of GIFT city is divided into various phases and as of now, phase-1 is completed. There are different colored garbage containers available at every building for separating the recyclable waste from organic and metallic wastes. There is an underground waste management system which uses vacuum to collect waste from all parts of the city, thus keeping it clean. On our way around the city, we saw the Fire station of the city well equipped with modern facilities. The District Cooling system is one of its kind in the GIFT city. The cooling requirement for the buildings of GIFT would be met by DCS that will supply chilled water to the buildings from a centralized chilling plant. Having one source of water results in lesser power consumption, higher reliability and reduced environmental impact. For the treatment of waste water, GIFT city has a water treatment plant. The treated water can be used for various purposes, making GIFT a zero discharge zone. We also passed by the construction of the tower of World Trade Centre. We saw a local school building which is also built using the concepts of green building and uses minimum energy. Apart from that, there are various facilities available for public use like petrol pumps, a nearby BRTS route, Local public transport, etc. The residential zones are under construction. The buildings in GIFT city shall be equipped with IBMS (Intelligent Building Management System) and same shall be connected to central control and command center to provide interface between user and utility service providers. Thus, GIFT city project is a smart city project which promotes the concepts of recycling, sustainable construction and ecological development along with being the world class model of sophistication and providing the best financial services. After a successful visit we returned to college premises at 7:30 pm. We are thankful to the Indian Green Building Council and the GIFT city administration for providing this opportunity and helping us gain knowledge in the best possible way. We extend our gratitude to our HOD Dr. Khadeeja Priyan for arranging this visit.

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Department: Civil Engineering