It holds its head high and is setting new standards: India’s “Statue of Unity” towers above all other statues in the world at 182 metres. The monumental structure was officially inaugurated on 31 October. Numerous steel and chemical anchors and other solutions by the fixing specialist fischer were used for its construction.
The “Statue of Unity” is approximately twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty in New York City. The structure, which took three and a half years to complete, is located near the city of Vadodara, in the westernmost Indian state of Gujarat.
It is dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, a statesman from Gujarat who played a leading role in India’s fight for independence. He was celebrated as the “Iron Man of India” due to his role as an activist against the British colonial power and the subsequent founding of the state in 1947.
The project’s dimensions are enormous. Including its pedestal, the statue towers 240 metres above ground and occupies an area of over two hectares surrounded by a twelve square kilometre artificial lake. The site is equipped with modern traffic infrastructure which includes a highway, an improved railway system and helipads.
There are also plans for the construction of 7-star hotels and further infrastructure measures. The construction consists of two reinforced concrete cylinders at the core surrounded by a steel skeleton. The exterior is clad with 8-millimetre thick bronze plates. As contractors, the engineering firm Larsen & Toubro and the construction firm Turner relied on numerous fischer fixing products.
“We earned the trust of the project managers through product demonstrations, technical seminars, tension tests and on-site training sessions”, Prakash Tripathi, Managing Director of fischer India summarises.
“We were therefore able to demonstrate the benefits of our products and services on the construction site”.