Gadkari wishes to build Burj Khalifa like structure in Mumbai

Mumbai, Oct 30: Union minister Nitin Gadkari today said he intends to build a structure taller than the Dubai's iconic Burj Khalifa here in the memory of Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji.

"I am not making any announcement but only expressing my wish. I want a huge building to come up in Mumbai.

I want a structure taller than the Burj Khalifa, one of the tallest buildings of the world, to come up in Mumbai near the seas. It will be called Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj tower," Gadkari said while speaking at the 'IBN Lokmat' Conclave here.

He further said the first 30 floors would be reserved for a conventional Centre, the next 30 for restaurants, another set of 30 floors for hotels, 20 floors for malls only, along with many floors underground as parking space.

Burj Khalifa is one of the tallest artificial structure in the world, standing at 829.8 mt (2,722 ft).

"On the top floors of the building, there can be an art gallery dedicated to Shivaji Maharaj, depicting his life. Around the building, there will be musical fountains, lights and crystal clear water," he said.

The minister also said that he also envisages to make seas of Mumbai as clean as those in Andamans and Mauritius.

"We will do whatever can be done to make sea water clean," he added.

The Maharashtra government is currently working on the Rs 1,900-crore project to build a grand memorial for the 17th century warrior king in the Arabian Sea off Mumbai coast.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to lay the foundation of the memorial next month.

The memorial, which includes Shivaji's equestrian statue, an amphitheater, a museum and an under water aquarium, is proposed to come up on an elliptical rock 1.2 kms from the Raj Bhavan here.

PTI