World’s tallest statue construction completes

Image: www.statueofunity.in

Mumbai-based contractor Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has completed an 82m-tall statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, one of the leaders of the Congress Party in the run-up to Indian independence.

The “Statue of Unity” is three times taller than Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro and twice the size of the Statue of Liberty in New York harbour, according to Global Construction Review.

L&T worked with US firm Michael Graves Architecture & Design on the project. The statue stands on a 58m-high plinth, and is made from steel, concrete and brass. It was built in 33 months on Sadhu Bet Island in the Narmada district of Gujarat, where Patel was born.

The development is estimated to have cost $525m (£403m).

The statue contains an elevator that can carry visitors to the top of the structure where a viewing platform is able to accommodate 200 people at a time.   

Image: http://www.statueofunity.in/

Its base houses an exhibition centre, a memorial garden, an administrative complex, a hotel, a conference centre and a bridge connecting Sadhu Island with the mainland.

SN Subrahmanyan, L&T’s managing director, said: “The Statue of Unity, apart from being a symbol of national pride, and integration is also a tribute to India’s engineering skills and project management abilities.”