Rs 547 Crore Medical Hub At Air India Crash Site

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat government has announced a Rs 547 crore plan to redevelop the campus destroyed after Air India’s flight AI171 crashed into the student hostels and mess buildings a year ago, resulting in 260 deaths. Gujarat Health Minister Praful Panseria, while offering tributes to those who lost their lives in the crash, stated that the government is determined to transform the scars of this tragedy into a resolution for growth, turning the site into a sanctuary of health and education that will herald a new era in healthcare and inspire new hopes for medical students. The ambitious transformation involves an investment exceeding Rs 547 crore to erect state-of-the-art healthcare and educational facilities on the affected grounds.

The New Mental Campus, functioning under the Department of Health and Family Welfare, is located adjacent to the Asarwa Civil Hospital and spreads across a vast total land area of 1,71,100 square meters. Prior to the accident, the campus housed several functional residential and hostel structures that utilised approximately 14,470 square meters of land.

The setup included six blocks of teaching staff quarters, offering 120 three-BHK units built on a ground plus five structure, six blocks of non-teaching staff quarters offering 120 two-BHK units on a ground plus four structure, two blocks of an undergraduate hostel containing 364 rooms on a ground plus five layout, seven blocks of a married post-graduate hostel providing 161 units on a ground plus four layout, and a ground plus one mess and canteen building. The modern dining facility is being planned to accommodate around 800 students, with an estimated project cost of Rs 10 crore. All of these residential blocks, the canteen, and a substation were constructed during the 2015-2016 period.

The tragedy unfolded on June 12, 2025, when a Boeing 737 Dreamliner aircraft sustained damage and crashed within the campus. The aircraft collided with the canteen building and the Atulyam 1 to 4 hostel buildings, triggering a devastating disaster. Among the heavily damaged structures were four blocks of the married post-graduate hostel, which housed 92 students living with their families. Following the crash, the health department immediately arranged separate temporary accommodation and catering facilities for all the affected post-graduate and undergraduate students.