Quick facts about ABCD Building
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Full name: Administration & Business Centre for Dholera (ABCD) — the administrative nerve-centre of Dholera SIR.
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Where it is: ABCD Building is located in the heart of Dholera, i.e. Town Planning 2, Phase 1 commercial zone.
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What it does: ABCD Building hosts DICDL’s Dholera office and serves as the city’s governance and investor interface; designed to integrate city operations via a central command & control centre
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Single-window facilitation: Dholera Industrial City provides a single-window system for clearances; ABCD is the on-ground hub for those interactions. Single Window Clearance System is one of the best facilities this building offers to companies investing in Dholera SIR.
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Procurement & cost: EPC contract for Design & Construction of ABCD building was awarded to Cube Construction & Engineering Ltd.; project cost was Approx 73 crore INR.
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Inside the ABCD complex: Besides office space, the complex houses an operations/command centre and an Experience Zone; DICDL has also executed interior works for a Business & Exhibition Centre (BEC) and an SPV building within the ABCD complex.
What exactly is the ABCD Building?
Think of ABCD building as City Hall + Nerve Centre for India’s largest greenfield smart-industrial city Dholera SIR. It is where Dholera Industrial City Development Ltd. (DICDL) runs its on-site operations, meets investors, and coordinates day-to-day city management through a Command & Control Centre that stitches together departments responsible for safety, utilities, mobility, and urban services.
It also supports single-window approvals and land-allotment help, so paperwork moves faster. Placed in Dholera’s first fully serviced area, the ABCD Building signals: the city is ready, open, and organized.
Why the ABCD Building matters
- Single-window Clearance for Ease of Business: Dholera Smart City operates a single-window system for land allotment and all types of approvals. Housing DICDL locally at ABCD brings the process closer to investors, trimming back-and-forth and improving predictability.
- Cross-department command: The Command & Control Centre model is crafted to break silos between departments for day-to-day operations and emergency management — the backbone of any smart city.
- Early-bird anchor: As part of the Activation Area build-out (roads, utilities, ICT), ABCD signaled “city is open for business,” catalyzing early industry, real estate, and public services.
ABCD Building – The City's "Brain and Heart"
The ABCD Building is frequently described as both the "brain" and the "heart" of Dholera Smart City, a metaphor that accurately captures its multifaceted role.
The Brain:
As the city's cognitive center, the building houses the high-tech Integrated Command and Control Center (ICCC). This is where a constant stream of real-time data from thousands of sensors across the city is collected, processed, and analyzed. This data-driven approach allows for intelligent, proactive management of all urban services, from optimizing traffic flow and managing the power grid to ensuring water supply and coordinating emergency responses.
The Heart:
Functioning as the city's administrative core, the building is the headquarters for the key development authorities that oversee Dholera's growth. It is from here that policies are formulated, permissions are granted, and the principles of governance are circulated throughout the entire SIR ecosystem, ensuring smooth and coordinated development.
How Does the ICCC Make Dholera a 'Smart' City?
If the ABCD Building is the body of Dholera's governance, the Integrated Command and Control Center (ICCC) is its sentient brain. Housed within the building, the ICCC is the technological heart of the smart city, a futuristic nerve center where data is transformed into intelligence and intelligence is translated into action. It is here that the "smart" in Smart City becomes a functional reality, shifting urban management from a traditionally reactive model to a proactive, data-driven one.
Key Authorities and Tenants at the ABCD Building
If you want to know which departments, Key authorities and companies have their offices in ABCD Building in Dholera, here’s the list. 😁
| Entity Name | Role/Function | Significance for Visitors/Investors |
|---|---|---|
| Dholera Industrial City Development Limited (DICDL) | Project implementation, infrastructure development, and city management | Primary point of contact for project partnerships, land allotment, and operational queries. |
| Dholera SIR Development Authority (DSIRDA) | Apex planning authority, regulatory body, and final approver of development plans | The key body for obtaining high-level permissions and understanding the region's master plan. |
| Dholera International Airport Company Ltd (DIACL) | Manages the development and operations of the upcoming international airport | Essential for businesses in logistics, aviation, and export-oriented sectors. |
| Office of the Town Planning Officer | Oversees the detailed execution of town planning schemes and land use regulations | Crucial for real estate developers, architects, and builders for plan approvals. |
| State Bank of India (SBI) | Provides banking and financial services | Offers convenient access to financial services for businesses and employees operating in Dholera. |
| Almondz Global Securities Ltd | Financial and infrastructure consultancy services | A key consultant involved in project supervision, indicating a hub for professional services. |
| Stup Consultants Pvt Ltd | Engineering and design consultancy | Another critical partner in the development ecosystem, available for consultation. |
| Montecarlo Ltd | Infrastructure construction company 18 | A major contractor with an office on-site, facilitating coordination on construction projects. |
Know Phase 2 of ABCD Building
Official planning documents and tender information confirm that a "Phase 2 of the ABCD Building" is already in motion. A preliminary design consultant, HCP Design Planning and Management Pvt Ltd., has been appointed for this next stage of development. Furthermore, an upcoming tender is planned for the "Design and Construction of ABCD Building Phase II," with a specific focus on expanding the Command & Control Centre.
This planned expansion is a critical element of the project's strategy. It demonstrates that the ICCC is not a one-time installation but a modular and scalable system. The initial phase provides the core functionality required to manage the 22.5 sq. km Activation Area. As Dholera expands into subsequent Town Planning schemes, the Phase 2 expansion of the ICCC will provide the enhanced computational power, data storage, and operational capacity needed to monitor and manage a much larger and more complex urban environment. This approach prevents the city's "brain" from becoming obsolete and ensures it remains future-proof.
A Scalable "Urban Operating System"
This phased development strategy reveals a deeper concept: the ABCD Building functions as the physical hardware for a scalable "Urban Operating System." Just as a computer's operating system receives updates and upgrades to handle more complex tasks, the ICCC is designed to evolve.
Version 1.0
The current, operational ICCC can be seen as the foundational version, tailored to the specific needs of Phase 1 of Dholera's development.
Version 2.0
The planned Phase 2 expansion represents the next major upgrade, designed to integrate new city zones, manage a larger population, and incorporate next-generation technologies like advanced AI, machine learning, and more sophisticated IoT networks.
This modular approach is a hallmark of modern technology architecture and is being innovatively applied to urban governance in Dholera. It ensures that the city's central nervous system can grow organically, maintaining peak efficiency as Dholera evolves from an emerging industrial node into a sprawling, globally competitive metropolis over its planned 30-year development trajectory.
