Patel to inaugurate 'Statue of Unity' foundation raft concrete

Gujarat Chief Minister Anandeiben Patel will tomorrow inaugurate 'Statue of Unity' foundation raft concrete work.
'Statue of Unity', is a pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The engineering team working on the project has completed levelling the hillock 'Sadhu Bet', located around 3 kms from the Sardar Sarovar dam across Narmada river in Narmada district, P C Vyas, chief engineer of the project told PTI.
The hillock is flattened to 60 meters for foundation raft concrete work, he added.
"The RAFT work at the foundation site of the statue will be completed in next 7 days by working round the clock. The safe bearing capacity for raft foundation for the proposed monument is 2,300 KPA," Vyas said.

The work order for the project was issued by the state government in October last year to leading engineering firm Larsen and Toubro (L&T).

"This construction work will be completed on June 3, 2018 at an estimated cost of Rs 2,979 crore. Rs 1,347 crore will be spent on the main statue, Rs 235 crore will be spent on the exhibition hall and convention centre while Rs 83 crore will be spent on the bridge connecting the memorial to the main land and Rs 657 crore would be spent to maintain the structure until 15 years after it is completed," Patel had said while awarding the contract to L&T.

The statue will be taller than the 'Statue of Unity' in New York.
"The project includes an exhibition hall and audio-visual presentation on the life of Sardar Patel, which will become the centre of attraction for tourists from across the globe," SS Rathore, Chairman and Managing Director of Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL) told PTI.
The project was initially launched Prime Minister Modi
on the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel on October 31, 2013 when he was Gujarat Chief Minister.
The first phase of the project will involve construction of the main statue, a bridge connecting the statue to the river bank and reconstruction of the 12-km road along the bank.

The project also involves a memorial park at the base of the statue, an artificial reservoir between the dam and Garudeshwar town and a visitor facilitation centre along reception desk at Kevadia.