Ahmedabad’s successful bid to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games has reignited focus on GIFT City — Gujarat’s ambitious international financial centre that is rapidly transitioning from a policy experiment into a thriving business district. Conceived in 2007 and reshaped by the creation of a unified financial regulator in 2020, GIFT City is now witnessing a surge in commercial activity, rising occupancy and a growing residential footprint.

With global events, foreign university campuses and urban expansion accelerating momentum, planners say the city is entering its next phase of growth — one aimed at drawing not just workers but long-term residents through new public spaces, housing projects and lifestyle infrastructure, according to a report by The Hindustan Times.

The idea to build an international financial centre on a greenfield site was conceived in 2007 by the then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. After initial years of slow growth and setbacks, the government converted GIFT into a fully state-owned company.

By 2011, the state had carved out a contiguous 3-sq-km (900-acre) plot along the Sabarmati and laid down the physical foundations—wide roads, a riverfront edge and perhaps the country’s most advanced underground utility systems.

The decisive shift came in 2020, when the Centre created the International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA), a unified regulator for banking, insurance, funds, aircraft leasing and other offshore financial activity.

About 25 buildings are now operational and almost fully occupied, bringing roughly 27,000 people into the city each day. Another 37 towers are under construction. For now, GIFT remains primarily a workplace rather than a place where people live, but that is beginning to change. Around 930 homes have been delivered and more than 7,000 are under construction.

Yogesh C Bhavsar, president of the National Real Estate Development Council (Gujarat), said that with Ahmedabad’s real estate market now nearly 60–70% saturated, the combination of upcoming global events, the growth of foreign university campuses, and steady organic urbanisation will accelerate GIFT City’s next phase of expansion.

“The long-term target is to eventually accommodate a density of about 250,000 people per square kilometre, comparable to Navi Mumbai’s,” said Loveleen Garg, chief planner and vice president (Planning), GIFT City.

With the hard infrastructure set in place, GIFT is investing in public spaces to attract residents. A 27-acre Central Park is under development along the extended riverfront. It will feature courts for soccer, box cricket, pickleball and basketball, a golf driving range, jogging and cycling tracks, plazas, lawns and an amphitheatre. A dedicated food zone with restaurants and kiosks is also planned to draw workers and residents into shared spaces.