An aerial view of the township that Surbana Jurong will build in Gujarat, India.
Surbana Jurong has secured a 15,000-unit affordable housing project in Gujarat, India. Awarded by Gujarat Housing Board through a quality and fee-based tender process, this move marks a significant milestone for Surbana Jurong as it extends its affordable housing expertise beyond Singapore.
Surbana Jurong is providing master planning, concept design, design review and project management services for some 15,000 homes across 12 sites in the next four years. These sites are located in cities with high population densities – Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot. The project incorporates some of Singapore’s best practices to make Gujarat’s public housing more vibrant, sustainable and liveable.
Township Design
Trailblazing for the future: the communal spaces the affordable housing project in Gujarat will have.
The concept design embodies key principles drawn from Singapore’s townships. These principles include connectivity, environmental sustainability, social community, safety, universal design, construction productivity and maintainability.
Surbana Jurong’s township design for the Gujarat project will foster social interactions by featuring community-centric spaces such as roof gardens, activity courtyards, playgrounds and outdoor fitness stations. These facilities will be located within safe and vehicular-free community spaces.
Lifestyle Features
The Gujarat townships will also include some of Singapore’s distinctive public housing features such as void decks – an empty space used for play and important communal events such as bazaars and weddings. In addition, there will be other amenities such as sky gardens, outdoor dining areas, meditation decks and play lawns. These features are new to Gujarat, setting a precedent for future affordable housing in India.
The concept plan also ensures each housing plot has its distinctive design and unique identity, in response to the cultural and geological context of each site. To ensure construction productivity, the design of the townships will be modular and adaptive to suit different sites.
Gujarat Housing Board has built homes in urban cities such as Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, and towns such as Bhuj, Vapi, Bharuch, Veraval, Porbandar and Gandhidham. The Gujarat Housing Board is committed to achieve the target set by the Prime Minister of India to provide housing for all by 2022.
New Surbana Jurong office in Gujarat
The company has opened a project office on 10 December. It was graced by Commissioner of Gujarat Housing Board, Mr Lochan Sehra and Chairman of Gujarat Housing Board, Mr Mahendrasinh Sarvaiya.
The Surbana Jurong’s Gujarat office was officially opened by Commissioner of Gujarat Housing Board, Mr Lochan Sehra (first from left) and Chairman of Gujarat Housing Board, Mr Mahendrasinh Sarvaiya (second from left). Mr Low Cher Ek, CEO (Global Township) of Surbana Jurong and Mr Jignesh Pattani, Director (Global Business & Strategy) of Surbana Jurong also participated in Surbana Jurong’s project office ribbon-cutting and lamp (Diya) lighting ceremony.
Mr Lochan Sehra, Commissioner of Gujarat Housing Board said, “We are inspired by Singapore’s public housing model. We believe that through Surbana Jurong’s deep expertise and strong track record in Singapore’s public housing and global townships, we can redefine public homes in Gujarat and uplift the residents’ quality of life. Many of the features are new to Gujarat and will potentially set a precedent for future affordable housing in India.”
Mr Wong Heang Fine, Group Chief Executive Officer of Surbana Jurong said, “Over the last five decades, we have master planned 26 townships that have housed over 80 percent of Singapore’s population. We are honoured to work with Gujarat Housing Board to bring our experience in designing and master planning Singapore townships to Gujarat. Singapore’s best practices and unique aspects in public housing will be incorporated in Gujarat’s public housing projects.”
Other Surbana Jurong projects in India:
Surbana Jurong has recently completed the Genome Valley 2.0 Concept Master Plan (above) occupying 125 sq km land in the eastern suburbs of Hyderabad. The master plan was conceptualised to drive the comprehensive development for Genome Valley. Today it houses 200 global and national life science and pharmaceutical companies with a workforce of 10,000. The development has the potential to grow as a strong economic centre of the region and to put forth Telangana’s aspiration for global R&D hub.
Surbana Jurong is also providing project management and design services for the Pimpri Chinchwad Smart City (above), adjoining Pune City, in the state of Maharashtra, India. The project was awarded to KPMG, in partnership with Surbana Jurong, by Pimpri Chinchwad Smart City Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle set up at the Pimpri Chinchwad city level to implement its smart city mission.
Surbana Jurong has also completed the vision plan for the Orange Smart City (above) project in Maharashtra, India. Orange Smart City is a 1,000-acre greenfield smart city development on the outskirts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. This smart city project’s strategic location and excellent connectivity make it an ideal destination for investments, innovation, tourism and living. The development has a target population of 300,000 and is set to create 100,000 jobs.
