Gujarat: Rs. 3,000 Crore contract for the Statue of Unity won by L&T

, Oct 28: The 182-metre bronze statue of the first Home Minister of India Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, which is designed to be the world's tallest will be engineered by Larsen and Toubro (L&T). Spearheaded by Narendra Modi-the Prime Minister of India-when he was the chief minister of Gujarat, the project commemorates the contribution of the charismatic leader who has been undermined across the years.

The statue is likely to be double the size of New York's 'Statue of Liberty'. Company sources said that it won the contract for Rs. 2,979 crore through a bidding process for the project referred to as the Statue of Unity. Turner Construction, which built the Burj Khalifa in Dubai is likely to act as consultant. The statue will be located on a river island in Gujarat, 2 hours drive from Baroda. L&T's senior executive vice president SN Subrahmanyan said,"It will take 42 months to execute. L&T has not compromised on margins or profitability to win the project."

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, while reading out the Financial Budget in July has kept aside Rs 200 crore to help fund the construction of the Statue of Unity.

While promoting the project 6 months earlier to his election as the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi said,"every Indian regrets Sardar Patel did not become the first prime minister. Had he been the first prime minister, the country's fate and face would have been completely different."

OneIndia News