Sabarmati Riverfront Case Study: Section, Embankments and Promenade (HCP Design)

The Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad is a river-training, land-reclamation and public-space project built by the Sabarmati River Front Development Corporation Ltd (SRFDCL), a company the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation set up in 1997, with HCP Design and Project Management, led by Bimal Patel, as architects and urban designers. On each bank a concrete diaphragm wall, an anchor slab and a retaining wall fix the river in a channel, carry a walk at the water's edge and hold about 200 hectares of reclaimed land. Below: brief, section, land use, phases, resettlement as dated facts and lessons, with MOA diagrams.

Sabarmati Riverfront case study: the brief and the client

SRFDCL's background page describes the river before the project: sewage entering through storm water outfalls, industrial waste, flood-prone settlements on the banks, and riverside land that was mostly private, so that the bridges were almost the only places to see the river from.

Its general presentation (file dated September 2015) lists nine objectives that together are the brief: public access to the river, an end to sewage in it, permanent housing for riverbed slum dwellers, less erosion and flooding, parks, promenades and ghats, new cultural and trade amenities, revitalised neighbourhoods, money to pay for it all, and a memorable identity for the city. The money mattered as much as the access: the project was to pay for itself by selling part of the land it reclaimed, so the plan had to produce saleable plots as well as public space.

Site and context: Ahmedabad and a monsoon river

Ahmedabad was founded on the Sabarmati in 1411. The river rises in the Aravalli hills, is fed by the monsoon and is not perennial; SRFDCL notes that it flooded often until the Dharoi dam upstream and Vasna Barrage below the city were built in 1976.

Sources measure the old riverbed differently. SRFDCL gives 300 m to 425 m. The NIH Roorkee report gives 325 m to 500 m between Subhash Bridge and Vasna Barrage, with banks 4 m to 9 m high that sloped gently to the bed, where settlements had grown.

The idea was not new: SRFDCL records a 1964 proposal by the French architect Bernard Kohn to reclaim about 30 hectares between Gandhi Bridge and Sardar Bridge. Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram stands on the west bank; Correa's museum there is the subject of our Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya case study. For another Ahmedabad building, see our Amdavad ni Gufa case study.

Concept and design ideas: a public edge built from a flood wall

In HCP's own text in Paesaggio Urbano (4, 2011), the aim is to reclaim the private river edge and use it as a public asset. Retaining walls on both banks, built above the high flood level, reclaim land, protect low-lying areas and stop erosion. The design idea was to make that wall the city's front.

The key move is a two-level, continuous promenade on each bank. SRFDCL's river promenade page puts the lower level just above the water, for pedestrians and cyclists, and the upper level at city level, with the public features. Stairs and ramps link them at intervals and under every bridge, with lifts for people with disabilities.

HCP's 2011 visualisations show what the levels were meant to hold: the Gandhi Ashram ghats as an amphitheatre, a "step-well type" stair down from the Delite junction on Ashram Road, and a heritage plaza at Lal Darwaza with people by the water below and vendors above. The plan also named 18 planning precincts behind the edge.

Sabarmati Riverfront master plan and zoning

SRFDCL's master plan page gives 204.91 hectares of reclaimed riverbed. Its 2015 presentation gives 202 hectares of reclamation, and a presentation by Dr Vatsal Patel, AMC's Chief City Planner, for ICRIER gives 204 ha in all, of which 162 ha is reclamation. The sources count different things.

SRFDCL's proposed land use of June 2010 put 53.84% into gardens, promenades and open space, 19.38% into roads, 14.50% into land for sale, 11.08% into public utilities and 1.20% into residual land. The ICRIER table splits the 204.91 ha further, with 27.39 ha (13.37%) for the lower promenade itself.

A booklet by SRFDCL and the AMC, Socialising a River and Inclusive Development (undated), says no more than 14% of the reclaimed land would be sold, though 20% was allowed, and lists an event ground of 60,000 sq m on the west bank and an urban forest of about 1 lakh sq m near Vasna Barrage. Two uses already on the riverbed were planned back in: the Sunday market, Ravivari, moved to a Riverfront Market beside its old site (SRFDCL), and the washing community moved to a laundry campus of 168 units.

Sabarmati Riverfront length and phases

Phase II adds 5.8 km on the east bank and 5.2 km on the west up to Indira Bridge, according to SRFDCL. AMC officials quoted by DeshGujarat in October 2026 put it at 82% complete and ₹1,285 crore, due in December 2027. Phase III, to the Narmada canal, received its environmental clearance on 12 March 2025 for 76.31 ha at a stated cost of ₹1,000 crore. DeshGujarat reported in April 2025 that Sobha Consultants designed Phase III and that Surbana Jurong would oversee Phases IV to VII, for 38 km towards Gandhinagar.

Sabarmati Riverfront section and structure

The section is the project's main design drawing, and it is mostly structure. From SRFDCL's descriptions and the construction sequence in its 2015 presentation, each bank works like this, from the river outwards:

• Diaphragm wall of reinforced concrete, cast into the riverbed along the new channel. SRFDCL's environmental improvement page gives more than 10 m deep; the 2015 presentation labels it 10 m to 14 m below the bed, beneath the scour level.
• Anchor slab tied to its top. The 2015 section labels it "Anchor slab / Lower promenade level": the slab is the walk.
• Retaining wall rising from the back of the slab to above the high flood level.
• Earth fill on the reclaimed bed behind it, forming the upper level of roads, parks and buildings, with storm water outlets passing through.

MOA's diagram shows the principle only. SRFDCL's own section drawings are in the 2015 presentation, linked from its studies and reports page.

Channel width and the design flood

The NIH report explains that earlier SRFDCL studies found a uniform width of 275 m optimal, so the river was narrowed to 275 m. SRFDCL's website now gives 263 m; we found no source that explains the difference. The design flood is 4.75 lakh cusecs (13,450 cumecs), about the size of the 1973 flood. NIH noted that the consultants' 100-year flood was 5.25 lakh cusecs and the works were designed for 4.75. Calibrating with the 2006 flood, it concluded that water levels in the narrowed channel were likely to be lower than under natural conditions. It also stated that the scheme "is not a flood control scheme", and recommended an upstream gauging station and flood-plain zoning.

Materials and construction

The structure is reinforced concrete. SRFDCL's 2015 presentation shows the order of work: a working platform in the riverbed, then the diaphragm wall and anchor slab, then the retaining wall and the earth fill. The lower promenade is plain: concrete paving, lighting along its length, circular concrete seats around trees and platforms for organised vending.

Dates vary by source. Down To Earth reported in April 2007 that construction had stalled after the August 2006 flood, which washed away hundreds of hutments, and restarted in March 2007. The SUR Atlas of Bocconi University lists pilot retaining walls in 2004 and official construction from 2007.

Costs also differ by year and scope. Down To Earth reported in 2007 that the estimate had risen from ₹361 crore in 1997 to about ₹1,100 crore. SRFDCL's 2015 presentation gives a Phase I cost of ₹1,103.42 crore against expected land sales of ₹1,500 crore.

Climate, water and services

The water in the channel is held, not flowing. Vasna Barrage retains it for about 15 km upstream, and the Narmada canal tops it up as water is lost to irrigation, evaporation and seepage (SRFDCL). Interceptor sewers along both banks take sewage to treatment plants south of the barrage; SRFDCL's website says they capture 38 discharge points, the booklet says 36.

The lower level is meant to flood. On 7 September 2025, with 93,658 cusecs passing Vasna Barrage, DeshGujarat reported the lower promenade under water. For ordinary buildings in the same hot, dry climate, see our guide to building materials in Ahmedabad and Gujarat.

Reception: awards, criticism and resettlement

SRFDCL's awards page lists a Prime Minister's Award for excellence in urban design and concept (2006), HUDCO awards in 2011 and 2012, and the CIDC Vishwakarma Award for best construction project (2014).

The embankment and the river

Down To Earth reported in November 2008 that the environmental impact assessment by CEPT and the Gujarat Ecology Commission had warned that embanking would hamper drainage and speed up the river, and had suggested terraced or sloping embankments instead of vertical ones. An SRFDCL official replied that the walls would protect the city against greater floods. Phase II, as SRFDCL now describes it, uses a stepped embankment with lower, middle and upper promenades. In March 2019 a joint inspection by the Gujarat Pollution Control Board and Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, reported by Down To Earth, found the river dry above the riverfront, still within it and heavily polluted downstream.

Resettlement of riverbed residents

• 8 March 2005: on a petition by Girish Patel, the Gujarat High Court stayed evictions (Down To Earth, 2007).
• To 30 August 2012: SRFDCL's 2015 presentation counts 5,984 households in a 2002 survey plus 5,752 approved by the High Court, 11,736 in all, across 29 relocation sites; 8,396 had been relocated by that date. The SRFDCL and AMC booklet gives each house 26.77 sq m carpet area.
• January 2012: Renu Desai, in the Economic and Political Weekly, argued that fragmentary evictions and piecemeal resettlement contradicted official descriptions of the project as inclusive.
• July 2025: a knowledge framework by the Asian Development Bank and World Bank with two Government of India ministries lists as a learning that relocation "could have been implemented in a more equitable manner".

What designers in India can take from it

Our reading, not the architects' claims:

1. Draw the engineering section and the public section as one. The slab that steadies the diaphragm wall is also the promenade. On a nala edge or lake bund, ask what the structure can carry for people before it is sized.
2. Decide what goes under water. A level that floods by design needs finishes, lights and seats that survive it, and a way to close it.
3. Test the profile of the edge, not only its height. Compare a vertical wall with steps or slopes for access, shade and how people reach the water.
4. Put the people already on the site in the brief. The market, the washers and the riverbed residents all had to be planned for. For a studio or thesis, see our thesis topics by typology and the case study documentation guide.

Visiting the Sabarmati Riverfront

The riverfront is public, with access from both banks. SRFDCL's river promenade page lists it as open from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm on both banks; the lower promenade closes when large releases come down the river. Parks and other facilities have their own pages on sabarmatiriverfront.com.

FAQ

Who designed the Sabarmati Riverfront?

HCP Design and Project Management (now HCP Design, Planning and Management), led by the architect and planner Bimal Patel, for SRFDCL, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's riverfront company. Environmental Planning Collaborative, also led by Patel, prepared the earlier feasibility report.

When was the Sabarmati Riverfront built?

SRFDCL was set up in 1997 and the design dates from about 2002. Construction was under way by 2006, paused after the August 2006 flood and restarted in March 2007; parts of the lower promenade were open by 2011 and 2012. Phase II is due in December 2027.

How long and how wide is the Sabarmati Riverfront?

About 11.2 km on the west bank and 11.3 km on the east in Phase I, according to SRFDCL. The river runs between walls 275 m apart in the 2007 hydrology study; SRFDCL's website now gives 263 m. The lower promenade is 6 m to 18 m wide.

What was the Sabarmati Riverfront project cost?

SRFDCL's 2015 presentation gives ₹1,103.42 crore for Phase I. AMC officials put Phase II at ₹1,285 crore in October 2026, and the Phase III clearance of March 2025 states ₹1,000 crore.

How was the riverfront paid for?

Mainly by selling part of the reclaimed land: 14.50% was set aside for sale in the 2010 land-use plan, against more than half for gardens, promenades and open space.

Planning a building by the water or on a difficult site? Find an architect on MOA.

Sources

• SRFDCL: Background (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• SRFDCL: Master plan (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• SRFDCL: Environmental improvement (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• SRFDCL: River promenade (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• SRFDCL: Social upliftment (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• SRFDCL: Phase II development (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• SRFDCL: Awards and recognition (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• SRFDCL: Studies and reports (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• SRFDCL: Sabarmati Riverfront Development, general presentation, file dated 10 Sep 2015 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• SRFDCL and AMC: Sabarmati Riverfront: Socialising a River and Inclusive Development, undated (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• HCP Design and Project Management, ed. Alessandra Tursi and Luca Rossato: Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project, Paesaggio Urbano 4, 2011 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee: Report on Hydrologic Studies for Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project, February 2007 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• Dr Vatsal Patel, AMC and SRFDCL: Land based financing mechanisms adopted for large scale urban projects, ICRIER (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• SEIAA Gujarat: Environmental clearance, Sabarmati Riverfront Development Phase 3, 12 March 2025 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• Down To Earth, Bharat Lal Seth: Concerns over Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project, 15 April 2007 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• Down To Earth, Ravleen Kaur: Losing touch, 30 November 2008 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• Down To Earth, Rajeev Khanna: The dark side of Sabarmati river development, 27 March 2019 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• Economic and Political Weekly, Renu Desai: Governing the Urban Poor: Riverfront Development, Slum Resettlement and the Politics of Inclusion in Ahmedabad, 14 January 2012 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• Asian Development Bank and World Bank with the Government of India: Creative Redevelopment of Cities in India, Knowledge Framework: Annexes, July 2025, Case Study 1 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• SUR Lab, Bocconi University: SUR Atlas: Sabarmati Riverfront (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• DeshGujarat: Work on Sabarmati Riverfront in GIFT City underway; Singapore firm roped in for final phases, 9 April 2025 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• DeshGujarat: Over lakh cusecs water in River Sabarmati in Ahmedabad; Lower Promenade under water, 7 September 2025 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• DeshGujarat: Sabarmati Riverfront Phase-II: 82% work completed, entire phase expected by December 2027, 5 October 2026 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)