Gujarat Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai announced in the state budget 2022-23 on Thursday that the Tapi riverfront in Surat city will be developed in the same way as the Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad, with a budget of Rs 1,991 crore.
A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) has already been formed for the Tapi riverfront development project with Surat Municipal Commissioner BN Pani as the managing director, and Surat district collector and mayor among other directors.
BN Pani said, “We are happy that the state government is also interested in the Tapi riverfront project and has granted Rs 1,991 crore. The project is estimated to cost over Rs 3,904 crore and will be funded by the state government, the central government and the World Bank. We have sent a Detail Project Report (DPR) to the World Bank for evaluation. If convinced, the World Bank will sanction a loan of Rs 1,500 crore. We are carrying out dredging activity and cleaning of the river.”
In addition to the Tapi project, Rs 94 crore was approved for the construction of check dams, barrages, and weirs on rivers such as the Par, Naar, Tan Ambika, and Daman Ganga in South Gujarat.
Surat city will also get two new government colleges.