The fate of the Rs 70,000-crore Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) hangs in the balance as the new board of Infrastructure Leasing and Finance Services (IL&FS) recently admitted that many of the IL&FS group companies involved in the project, including the joint venture partner — holding company IL&FS — will not be able to pay off their debt to financial creditors.
GIFT City Co, which is implementing the GIFT City project in Gandhinagar, is a 50:50 joint venture between IL&FS and the state government-owned Gujarat Urban Development Co (GUDC). The project houses the country’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). Of the 880 acres over which the GIFT City project has been envisaged, about 250 acres is earmarked for IFSC.