This initiative marks India’s foray into greenfield smart city development, characterized by intelligent infrastructure, advanced utilities, seamless connectivity, and technological innovation. Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has played a key role in shaping Dholera into India’s maiden smart greenfield city.

Authored by Oana Crisan, a product marketing manager specializing in civil design engineering solutions at Bentley Systems, a recent case study delves into the transformative journey of Dholera, where Bentley’s Open Applications for roadway and utility works have not only accelerated the project schedule by 10 percent but also resulted in cost savings of INR 10 million.

Nestled 100 kilometers southwest of Ahmedabad, Dholera Special Investment Region emerges as a beacon of progress, poised to become a global trading and manufacturing hub within the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor. Encompassing 920 square kilometers, this initiative marks India’s foray into greenfield smart city development, characterized by intelligent infrastructure, advanced utilities, seamless connectivity, and technological innovation.

Larsen & Toubro shoulders the responsibility of utility works spanning a vast 57-square kilometer area, coupled with the delivery of a sophisticated 174.25-km highway network. Rajesh Kumar, Head of Digital at Larsen & Toubro, highlights the intricacies involved in designing modern infrastructure to support intelligent city development, emphasizing the integration of various utility services within the roadway reserves.

“Services and utilities running within the roadway reserves include portable water, sewer, industrial effluent, and recycle water networks, as well as power duct, ICT duct, SCADA, and street lighting,” said Dr. Kumar.

To meet the project’s stringent BIM requirements, Larsen & Toubro faced the daunting task of integrating power and water utilities with roadway works. However, initial attempts using traditional CAD software applications encountered challenges in data exchange and management. Dr. Kumar highlights the imperative of a connected digital solution capable of integrating diverse datasets and coordinating stakeholders to streamline workflows and optimize execution.

Embracing Bentley’s OpenFlows applications for utility design and analysis, coupled with OpenRoads for roadway modeling, Larsen & Toubro revolutionized project management by creating a unified 3D BIM model. This centralized digital environment facilitated collaboration, clash detection, and analysis, thereby ensuring sustainable and efficient designs throughout the project lifecycle.

By leveraging Bentley’s innovative solutions, Larsen & Toubro achieved remarkable milestones, including a 25 percent improvement in productivity, a 10 percent acceleration in the project schedule, and significant cost savings. Dr. Kumar commends Bentley’s clash detection feature for its role in resolving design conflicts and enhancing project execution efficiency.

As Dholera evolves into a model for smart city development, Larsen & Toubro’s endeavors underscore the transformative power of technology in fostering sustainability, connectivity, and quality of life. With plans to integrate BIM with emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things, Dholera aims to enhance infrastructure performance, promote environmental stewardship, and ensure a sustainable future for generations to come.

In the words of Dr. Kumar, “Bentley came with a solution of subsurface utility design and analysis workflow, where we have exported the design model into OpenRoads software along with all the design attributes carrying along with the BIM models,” echoing Larsen & Toubro’s commitment to innovation and excellence in urban development.