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The Adani Group, which is undertaking the redevelopment of Mumbai’s Dharavi, one of the largest slum clusters in the world, has roped in high-profile planners and designers from India and around the world — they will help in designing and conceptualising the master plan.
The Dharavi Redevelopment Project Pvt Ltd (DRPPL) will be working with architect Hafeez Contractor, UK’s consultancy firm Buro Happold and US-based design firm Sasaki, as well as experts from Singapore. Together, all of them will “reimagine one of the largest and most vibrant informal settlements in Asia”, said a release.
Buro Happold is known for Varso Tower in Warsaw, the tallest building in the European Union, the regeneration of Battersea Power Station and other projects. Sasaki has experience in city infrastructure projects such as the Denargo Market Master Plan and Public Realm development in Denver and the Ellinikon Park in Greece. Hafeez Contractor has been involved with social housing and slum redevelopment projects in Mumbai.
modern renaissance
The Adani Group is planning to embark on the renaissance of Dharavi. There are over 50,000 families living in Dharavi in crowded tenements, and it has developed an ecosystem of its own. DRPPL plans to build private homes with independent toilets, airy kitchens and rooms for family living and resting. Apart from this, there will also be provisions for shops and businesses, while for a more sustainable future there will be vocational job opportunities and upskilling of the local community.
It is more than an urban renewal and revitalising of infrastructure project. “Our goal is to elevate the quality of life of the residents of Dharavi while nurturing the essence of its vibrant culture,” said the release. The aim is to create a model of urban redevelopment for projects across in the country and across the world.
The project administrators are also taking help from Singapore, which till the 1960s, had shanties, slums and ghettos. Towards the end of that decade the Singapore Housing Board was set up and it started building world-class infrastructure that are now held up as prime examples of urban rejuvenation.
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