Ahmedabad's most iconic educational campus, which, over the years, has become a landmark site in the city, may soon witness a massive change in its shape. The 57-year-old Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, will have to do away with its boundary wall, pushing the same a few metres inside. All this courtesy a road widening that is being planned in the future. The traffic congestion at IIM-A crossroads, towards the new campus, has forced authorities to come up with a solution. The road widening is a part of that development plan.
Confirming the same, Chaitanya Shah, Estate Officer, New West Zone, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), said, "Road widening is a part of the development plan and whenever it happens, a part of land of both campuses will be resized. The campus will have to be pushed inside."
The premier management institute is spread across 106 acres and was built in 1961; the new campus was constructed in 2009. The combined total spread of both the campuses is separated by the 132-ft Ring Road, but is joined by a pedestrian subway. As acquiring new land is not a viable option, maximising the incumbent space will be the only option the institute can explore.
Interestingly, the flyover, constructed in 2013 by HCP, had made entry into the institute a bit difficult. While the idea was to ease traffic by elevating heavy traffic flows from Vastrapur and AMA Road for a smooth movement on Ring Road without disturbing the BRTS bus stand, experts felt that the flyover did not really serve its purpose. In February 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tweeted: "The new IIMA-Vastrapur flyover will help ease traffic congestion in this very busy part of Ahmedabad."
With the new plans, the gates of both campuses would also be shifted. Sources privy to the development, said, "The gates located in the old and new campuses will also be shifted. They will be moved to the two ends of the flyover for easier mobility of the IIM-A community. The road widening will also shift the upcoming School of Public Policy inside by a few metres.
EXPANSION AT INSTITUTE LEVEL:
In 2016, the institute had announced major expansion by appointing Bimal Patel as the master architect, and eventually roping in Montreal-based Arcop Group and RMA Architects along with Patel's HCP. While Rahul Mehrotra of RMA Architects will design the School of Public Policy, Arcop will handle faculty and student housing. The new academic block and sports complex will be designed by HCP. These five projects will be the first phase of a multi-year plan for increasing the capacity and renewing the IIM-A campus. Most of the new projects will come up on the new campus, except faculty housing. The Jindal School of Public Policy at IIM-A will be a multi-storey structure including several classrooms and faculty offices.
