MUMBAI: Otis India is providing the vertical transport solutions for The Statue of Unity, named the world’s tallest statue standing at a height of 182 meters, spread over 20,000 square meters. The statue will have ten Otis elevators, including the high speed Skyrise™ elevator, which will run at a speed of four meters per second (MPS). Otis is a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).
The massive structure, built by engineering and construction giant, Larsen & Toubro, is dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India’s first Deputy Prime Minister and leader of independent India. Located in the state of Gujarat, it is erected on the river island called Sadhu Bet, facing the Narmada Dam.
Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India laid the statue’s foundation stone in 2013 when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. The iron needed for the statue and surrounding structure has been collected from 500,000 Indian farmers who donated their used farming instruments, which led to its name - Statue of Unity.
“The Statue of Unity, apart from being a symbol of national pride, is definitely a tribute to India’s engineering skills and project management abilities,” said L&T CEO & Managing Director, S N Subrahmanyan. “It is also a monumental triumph of teamwork with significant contributions from our architects, engineers, consultants and, of course, contributors of global repute like Otis. Otis has done a commendable job interfacing with L&T’s technical requirements adhering to the demanding schedule to commission the elevators on time. It has been an outstanding effort by its leadership to mobilize resources and put it all together.”
“It is an honour and a privilege for Otis to help elevate the Statue of Unity as it makes history,” said Stephane de Montlivault, president Otis Asia Pacific. “This prestigious project, adds to Otis’ long list of iconic structures that count on Otis, like the Statue of Christ the Redeemer (Brazil, Rio de Janeiro), Eiffel Tower (Paris, France), Burj Khalifa (Dubai, U.A.E), Empire State Building (New York, USA) and Petronas Twin Towers (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).”
“Statue of Unity is the nation’s pride and Otis is excited to be part of this stupendous feat.” said Sebi Joseph, president, Otis India. “We are thankful to L&T for choosing Otis to support this challenging project. Otis and L&T teams worked very closely to meet the challenging deadlines.”
The project which caters to visitors, has a public plaza overlooking the Narmada river, food stalls, laser-light and sound show, garden, hotel, convention center, amusement park, research centers, museum as well as a memorial and exhibition hall that focuses on the life and contributions of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
