Surat: Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel today inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for a series of development projects worth ₹435.45 crore by the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC), as part of Urban Development Year 2025. The event was held at Sanjeev Kumar Auditorium in Adajan-Pal, with Union Jal Shakti Minister C. R. Paatil also present at the ceremony.

Among the notable inaugurations was a ₹1.60 crore solar initiative comprising a 100-kilowatt solar power plant and a 224-kilowatt-hour battery storage system at the Althan Electric Bus Depot. Additionally, the foundation stone was laid for SMC’s upcoming wind power project at Bhimguda village in Morbi district.

Projects worth ₹73 crore that were inaugurated include a modern sports complex, Urban Health Centres, a library, and a shelter home in Limbayat; two Primary Urban Health Centres, two ward offices, two Vector Borne Disease Control units, and a garden in Sarthana; as well as a reading room, health office, and two Urban Health Centres in Katargam. Additional initiatives feature a sports facility centre, garden renovation in the South West Zone, a 19.76-kilometre drainage network in the Pal area, a tertiary treatment plant, and a wastewater pipeline.

Meanwhile, projects with a combined cost of ₹362.45 crore, for which the CM laid the foundation stone, include: a ₹70 crore flyover on the Bamroli–Althan BRTS route in Udhna; widening of the Simada creek bridge in Sarthana; a rest house and dining facility at SMIMER Hospital under the PPP model; new sewage pumping stations in Bhata village; drainage network expansion in newly added municipal areas; development of an “iconic” road from Airport Gate to Kuwada Junction under PPP; a community hall; the Suman High School building in Sarthana; a bus depot terminal; a library; and a senior citizen centre. DeshGujarat.