GANDHINAGAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually inaugurate and dedicate to the nation a host of projects worth over Rs 1,100 crore, including a newly-built five-star hotel atop the redeveloped Gandhinagar railway station, on Friday, said Gujarat government officials on Thursday.
The luxury hotel, having 318 rooms, is spread across 7,400 square meters and has been built at a cost of Rs 790 crore, said SS Rathore, Managing Director of Gandhinagar Railway and Urban Development Corporation Ltd (GARUD), at a press meet in Gandhinagar.
GARUD, the owner of the five-star hotel having a total height of 250 feet, is an SPV (special purpose vehicle) set up by the Gujarat government and the Ministry of Railway.
The hotel would host national and international guests who would come to attend seminars and conferences at Mahatma Mandir, a convention centre situated just opposite the high-end property, Rathore said.
The railway station has been provided with green building features.
Special care has been taken to make it divyang friendly station by providing it with special ticket counter, ramps, lifts, dedicated parking spaces, he said.
The redevelopment of the existing railway station in Gandhinagar and construction of the five-star hotel on top of the station started in January 2017 after Modi performed their groundbreaking.
Now, the new-look station as well as the hotel are ready and will be inaugurated by the PM at 4 pm on July 16 (Friday) through video conferencing, he said.
According to Rathore, the new-look Gandhinagar railway station “is country’s first redeveloped station with amenities at par with the airports” having two escalators, three elevators and two underground pedestrian subways connecting platforms.
The new railway station has earmarked 7,600 square meter area for future commercial development such as multiplexes, shopping areas and food courts, which can be operated on PPP mode, said Rathore.
Sumit Awasthi, a senior Railway official in Ahmedabad, said, “The Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre in Gandhinagar, is becoming the venue of choice for organising national and international events such as exhibitions, conferences, etc.
There was a lack of proper connectivity and accommodation.
As a result, Gandhinagar Capital Railway Station has been redeveloped incorporating a 318-room swanky hotel within.” Later, the PM will virtually inaugurate three new attractions at the Science City in Ahmedabad.
These attractions are – an aquatic gallery, a robotic gallery and a nature park, said Vijay Nehra, secretary, Science and Technology Department.
The aquatic gallery, built at a cost of Rs 260 crore in the Science City, is India”s largest aquarium having 68 large tanks to display marine life from across the world, including reef sharks, alligator gar, Koi and black pacu fish among others.
In all, the aquarium has around 11,600 fishes and marine animals of 188 different species, he said.
The gallery also has a 28-meter-long underwater walkway tunnel for watching the marine species, said Nehra.
Another attraction is the robotic gallery, built at a cost of Rs 127 crore and spread across 11,000 square meters.
It has over 200 robots of 79 different types, including humanoid robots having human-like bodies and machines which can interact with human beings, he said.
The nature park, built at a cost of Rs 14 crore, is spread across 20 acres and has life-size statues of animals, said a state government release.
The park has many beautiful features like fog garden, chess garden, selfie points, sculpture park and open labyrinth (maze).
It includes an interesting labyrinth designed for children.
During the virtual event, Modi would also flag off a new weekly superfast train between Gandhinagar and Varanasi (the PM’s Lok Sabha constituency) and a MEMU (Mainline Electric Multiple Unit) train service connecting the state capital and Varetha in Mahesana district.
He will also dedicate the 54km newly electrified Mehsana-Varetha broad gauge rail line, which passes through Vadnagar (PM’s hometown), and a 266 km stretch between Surendranagar and Pipavav station, said Dipak Kumar Jha, Divisional Railway Manager, Ahmedabad.
He said the PM will also inaugurate the Vadnagar Railway Station’s new-look building, which has been revamped at a cost of Rs 8.5 crore and given a heritage look in view of its historical importance.
The Mehsana-Veretha meter gauge line has been converted into electrified broad guage line at a total project cost of Rs 367 crore (Rs 293 crores guage conversion and Rs 74 crore electrification), a PIB release said.
The Vadnagar railway station, which is part of the Vadnagar-Modhera-Patan heritage circuit, has been redesigned by Indian Tourism, giving it a heritage look with aesthetic stone carvings, the release said.
The robotic gallery to be inaugurated by the PM takes visitors through the history of evaluation of robots from early version of present they humanized and space robots, it said.
It is an interactive gallery that showcases the pioneers of robotics technology and will provide a platform for visitors to explore the ever-evolving field of robotics, the release said.