Envisioned in 2007 as India's answer to Singapore or Dubai — a self-contained financial city with homes, malls, hospitals and nightlife around its office towers — GIFT City has built out only about 22 million of its planned 62 million square feet. Despite housing over 20,000 workers across 400+ companies, it has just one completed residential project, one five-star hotel, no malls, and Gujarat's statewide alcohol prohibition undercuts the after-work social scene finance professionals expect, leaving many firms' real operations still centred in Mumbai.
On record
The official record states: "GIFT City's managing director "did not respond" to press queries about the shortfalls; a former Group CEO of the company acknowledged that "majority of their workforce is in places like Mumbai" despite firms nominally basing themselves at GIFT City."
Filed as "Still standing but grossly underused" and dated to Conceived 2007; construction from 2012; IFSC status 2015, this entry sits under the "Over $240 million in committed private investment so far, within a planned 886-acre, 62-million-sq-ft development" line of the public accounts.
What to expect
- A ribbon-cutting photograph that aged faster than the structure.
- Maintenance records that exist in principle.
- A budget line that grew with the confidence of the project itself.
- A file number that outlived several transfer postings.
Sourcing
1 public source — news reports, RTI replies and civic archives — corroborate this entry. The citation trail is listed below for anyone who would like to follow up with the department concerned.
“The model in the lobby is doing better than the site outside.”— Blunderlust Editorial Desk
Sources
Visitor reviews
“Wandered over during a long layover in Gandhinagar. The signboard remains the most finished part.”
“Parked nearby by accident and ended up staying an hour. Gandhinagar should honestly charge admission.”
“Went looking for the other and found the barricades first. It is a monument to the phrase 'by next quarter'.”