GIFT City's ambitious Formula 1 track plan comes to a grinding halt

Gujarat's GIFT City's ambitious plan to build a racetrack for holding Formula 1 (F1) races has come to a grinding halt four months after flagging off a feasibility study and selecting consultants, said people in the know.

ET had reported on 11 March that Gujarat Sports Authority had invited top international F1 racetrack designers to make presentations on the feasibility of building a F1 racetrack at GIFT City.

Global designers competed for the mandate to prepare a plan for the project with top German designer Hermann Tilke in a consortium with India's Arcop architects emerging as the favourite to prepare the feasibility study.


However, no progress on the plan has happened so far, said the people cited above. "Designers had given feedback that given the layout of GIFT City, it may be difficult to build a racetrack that conforms to F1 standards due to structural issues," one of the persons said.

The project could also turn out to be a costly affair with estimates placing the cost of building such a racetrack at Rs 5,000-10,000 crore.

Gujarat Sports Authority director general R.S. Ninama and Hermann Tilke didn't respond to ET's queries. "They are thinking of combining this project with the plan for building infrastructure for the Olympics. So you may get a racetrack but not one that can host F1 races," a second person said.

GIFT City, located in the capital city of Gandhinagar, has been developed as a financial centre to attract international firms to set up shop. The government expects multiple businesses to be drawn to the city because of tax breaks it is offering them.

There is a major focus on developing entertainment and leisure infrastructure to make the city liveable. For instance, projects are under way to build an underwater aquarium, water sport facilities and a retail zone with a 158-meter-high Ferris wheel.