Ahmedabad’s appetite for bold bets can be measured in acres. At a recent planning summit, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) senior vice-president Ajay Patel offered a striking comparison. “Paris used 400 acres for its 2024 Games. Ahmedabad has already acquired 1,000 acres.”Officially, the city is preparing for the 2030 Commonwealth Games (CWG), the centenary edition of the event and India’s first since Delhi 2010. But nearly every major decision being taken today is being shaped by a larger ambition: positioning Ahmedabad as the host city for the 2036 Olympic Games. “The 2030 CWG is a dress rehearsal for the 2036 Summer Olympic Games,” Patel said. While the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is expected to take a final call on the 2036 host around 2029, Gujarat has already begun building as though the Olympics are coming.A drive through Motera reflects the scale of that ambition. Construction cranes, excavators and scaffolding dominate the skyline as roads, sporting venues, transport systems and hotels take shape for an event still four years away.The master planAt the heart of the transformation is the Rs 5,050-crore Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave (SVPSE), coming up around the Narendra Modi Stadium, the world’s largest cricket venue with a capacity of 1.32 lakh. The stadium is set to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the CWG. The enclave will include a 12,000-seat aquatics centre, an 18,000-seat tennis centre and indoor arenas for basketball, gymnastics, volleyball, skateboarding, artistic swimming and sport climbing. To make way for the project, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) altered land-use plans across Sabarmati and Koteshwar, freeing nearly 14.5 lakh square metres.Unlike several past multisport events where venues struggled to find a purpose after the Games, Gujarat says legacy planning has been built into the project from the outset. “We are adopting an asset utilisation model rather than a traditional ROI-based recovery approach,” Gujarat deputy chief minister Harsh Sanghavi, who led Ahmedabad’s CWG bid, told TOI . “The CWG infrastructure is a long-term investment in Ahmedabad’s transformation into an Olympic-ready global hub, not a sunk cost.” The venues will function as a year-round Games Plaza, hosting sporting events, concerts and exhibitions, with operational breakeven projected within five to seven years. A dedicated Infrastructure Legacy & Operations Trust (ILOT) is being created to manage the facilities at Motera and the Naranpura Sports Complex.The sporting footprint extends well beyond Motera. Around 11km away, at Karai in Gandhinagar, a net-zero athletics stadium with a capacity of 50,000 and a worldclass shooting centre are under construction. The Rs 825-crore Naranpura Sports Complex is already operational, with facilities for badminton, squash, table tennis and Olympic-standard swimming.Additional sports complexes have been completed in Vastral, while more are under construction in Gota, Ghuma, Naroda and Nikol. In all, 22 competition venues have been finalised across Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. Sanghavi has set a firm deadline. “All major infrastructure will be ready by the end of 2029, leaving early 2030 for trial runs. By the time athletes and visitors arrive, Ahmedabad will be fully ready, with venues, transport and support systems functioning seamlessly.”The 30-minute cityThe makeover, however, extends far beyond stadiums. Ahmedabad’s vehicle population is growing by nearly nine per cent annually, significantly above the national average. To prevent congestion during the Games, planners have adopted what officials describe as a “30-minute city” model. The objective is simple: every athlete, official and spectator should be able to travel between venues, hotels and training centres within 30 minutes.The existing 168km Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), which carries more than 2.2 lakh passengers a day, will be integrated with an expanding Metro network. A new northsouth Metro corridor and a parallel Neo Metro or light-rail system are each designed to carry around 70,000 passengers per hour in either direction.A Rs 472-crore integrated ticketing platform will allow commuters to use a single QR code across the Metro, BRTS and a planned fleet of 3,000 electric buses. The road network is also being expanded. New arterial roads and northsouth and east-west corridors are being developed, while more than 100 roads are being widened. At the same time, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport is preparing for a sharp rise in traffic. A new integrated terminal is expected to double its annual capacity, while airports at Dholera, Vadodara and Surat could help handle the overflow during the Olympics.Budgets and backersFinancing a project of this scale will require multiple funding streams. According to Gujarat’s Olympic bid estimates, the organising committee budget could range from Rs 18,557 crore to Rs 41,031 crore, while capital expenditure on infrastructure is projected at between Rs 16,060 crore and Rs 22,878 crore. The state plans to rely heavily on public-private partnerships, particularly for the Olympic Village and International Broadcast Centre. It is also proposing an ‘Adopt a Sport’ programme to encourage corporations to support athlete development and infrastructure through corporate social responsibility funding.Officials cite Gujarat’s own sporting investment as evidence of its long-term commitment. The state’s sports budget has risen from Rs 2.5 crore in 2002 to Rs 521 crore today, while the Khel Mahakumbh programme now attracts more than seven million participants annually.Village and vacancyAccommodation remains one of the biggest challenges. The proposed Olympic Village, located within 5km of the Narendra Modi Stadium, will comprise 2,191 apartments capable of housing more than 17,500 athletes. The apartments are intended to be converted into premium residential housing.The shortage of hotels presents an even tougher problem. Ahmedabad currently has just over 5,400 star-category rooms, while the long-term requirement for an Olympics is estimated at close to one lakh. The target is to increase capacity to 40,000 rooms before the 2030 Commonwealth Games through a new hotel policy offering capital subsidies. Parcels of land have already been earmarked for development, while neighbouring cities such as Vadodara and Mehsana are expected to absorb some of the additional demand.Green promisesThe transformation also carries an ambitious sustainability agenda. Ahmedabad has committed to powering the proposed Olympics Games entirely through renewable energy, backed by upgraded battery-storage systems. Six million trees have already been planted against a target of 10 million, while every competition venue is expected to recycle and reuse all wastewater.(With inputs from Kapil Dave and Parag Dave)
