The metro transit authority in India’s Gujarat state has drafted rail expansion plans that would accommodate the proposed Ahmedabad 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games bid.
According to The Times of India the Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation (GMRT) has drafted plans to expand rail service to Motera, where Narendra Modi Stadium is the proposed Olympic Stadium and sports park, and to Manipur where an Olympic Village could be sited. Other possible Olympic sites are also linked according to the GMRC proposal.
Top state government sources are cited claiming the rail project will be linked to the ongoing Olympic infrastructure projects to ensure “prompt financing.”
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi launched his nation’s bid to host the Games during an International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session he hosted in Mumbai last October. However Ahmedabad has yet to be nominated host city by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and no region has been confirmed. IOA officials reported that they have engaged the IOC Future Host Commission (FHC) in ongoing discussions over a potential bid.
Even if nominated, Ahmedabad would need to follow a long and complicated path to be chosen to host India’s first-ever Games.
According to the IOC there are several countries interested in bidding for the 2036 edition but no election will be held before “2026 or 2027”. So far Germany has launched a public consultation process around a possible bid and other nations have mentioned interest in passing. The IOC does not disclose which countries are involved in confidential discussions over future projects.
Despite that, officials in Ahmedabad have hired consultants to design a masterplan for the bid, and the state has committed to major sports infrastructure development projects to be completed ahead of the proposed Games.
Under recent bidding reforms, the IOC has emphasized the need to use only existing facilities to host the Games as a means to reduce costs and support sustainability. Before the changes a metro extension promised for the Rio 2016 Games was delivered incomplete and over budget, and a regional rail line proposed for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games was shortened after the Games were awarded.
Plans for the Brisbane 2032 Games inked after the reforms promised rail links that were said to be needed anyways to support the growth of the region, but now the project is being labeled a priority for the Olympics as estimated costs have skyrocketed. This scenario is the type the IOC hoped to avoid.
But if the Indian project is approved with shovels in the ground the IOC could turn a blind eye.
The Indian subcontinent with its huge population is a region with which the IOC is interested in partnering, but they want to do so without the inherent risks.
Paris will host the Games this Summer with most venues and infrastructure either temporary or pre-existing, and Los Angeles will host in 2028 claiming to build nothing specifically for the Games.
