Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T’s) project schedule for Dholera smart city has been accelerated by 10 per cent. It has saved Rs 10 million in costs with the use of Bentley’s Open Applications for roadway and utility works.
Located 100 km southwest of Ahmedabad, the Dholera Special Investment Region is being built close to the trading centres of Gujarat and will be easily accessible from the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, making it a potential global trading and manufacturing hub. This will support economic development and improve the quality of life for city residents and workers. Encompassing 920 sq. km, the project is India’s first greenfield smart city development, boasting smart infrastructure, utilities, connectivity and technology. The region will have four-way connectivity via an express highway, a metro, a dedicated international airport and a nearby port. It will be powered by electricity generated from renewables through a dedicated 5 GW solar park.
L&T is responsible for utility works over an area of 57 sq. km, and for the delivery a 174.25 km long highway network to provide efficient, intelligent and sustainable services and transportation. The project requires designing modern infrastructure to support intelligent city development, including modelling and analysing varying roadway alignments with utility services passing through various parts of the corridor. “Services and utilities running within the roadway reserves include potable water, sewers, industrial effluent and water recycling networks, as well as power ducts, ICT ducts, SCADA and street lighting,” said Rajesh Kumar, head of digital at L&T. As it is a massive smart city initiative, the client has mandated building information modelling implementation throughout design, construction and life cycle maintenance and management.
The use of Open Applications is helpful in coordinating and integrating data and stakeholders; leveraging Open 3D modelling technology; and driving savings, sustainability and life cycle management, among others.