Otis India is providing vertical transport solutions to world’s tallest statue- the Statue of Unity, standing at a height of 182 meters, spread over 20,000 square meters. Located in the state of Gujarat and designed by Larsen & Toubro, the massive structure will feature 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 statue formed was dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India’s first Deputy Prime Minister and leader of independent India. The founding stone of this huge structure was laid in 2013 by Prime Minister of India- Narendra Modi, when he was the chief minister of Gujarat. There is a huge quantity of iron required for creating the structure. And for this, almost 5, 00,000 Indian farmers donated their used farming instruments. And that is how it got its name- Statue of Unity.
L&T CEO & Managing Director, S N Subrahmanyan, says, “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. “ He also said, “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, the museum as well as a memorial and exhibition hall that focuses on the life and contributions of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Otis is the world’s leading manufacturer and maintainer of people-moving products, including elevators, escalators and moving walkways. Founded 165 years ago by the inventor of the safety elevator, Otis offers products and services through its companies in more than 200 countries and territories.