Statue of Unity

The Statue of Unity is an enlarged version of this statue in the Ahmedabad International Airport

After studying statues of Patel across the country, a team of historians, artists, and academics chose a design submitted by the Indian sculptor Ram V. Sutar.[lower-alpha 1] The Statue of Unity is a larger version of a statue of the leader installed at Ahmedabad International Airport. Commenting on the design, Ram Sutar's son, Anil Sutar explains that, "the expression, posture and pose justify the dignity, confidence, iron will as well as kindness that his personality exudes. The head is up, a shawl flung from shoulders and hands are on the side as if he is set to walk". Three models of the design measuring 3 feet (0.91 m), 18 feet (5.5 m), and 30 feet (9.1 m) were initially created. Once the design of the largest model was approved, a detailed 3D-scan was produced which formed the basis for the bronze cladding cast in a foundry in China.[10][14]

Patel's dhoti-clad legs and the use of sandals for footwear rendered the design thinner at the base than at the top thereby affecting its stability. This was addressed by maintaining a slenderness ratio of 16:19 rather than the customary 8:14 ratio of other tall buildings.[10] The statue is built to withstand winds of up to 180 kilometres per hour (110 mph) and earthquakes measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale which are at a depth of 10 km and within a radius of 12 km of the statue.[1][10] This is aided by the use of two 250 tonne tuned mass dampers ensuring maximum stability.[15][16]

The total height of the structure is 240 m (790 ft), with a base of 58 m (190 ft) and the statue measuring 182 m (597 ft).[1] The height of 182 metres was specifically chosen to match the number of seats in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly.[7][10]

The Statue of Unity was built by a Public Private Partnership model, with most of the money coming from the Government of Gujarat. The Gujarat state government had allotted ₹500 crore (equivalent to ₹641 crore or US$80 million in 2020) for the project in its budget from 2012 to 2015.[17][18] In the 2014–15 Union Budget, ₹200 crore (equivalent to ₹272 crore or US$34 million in 2020) was allocated for the construction of the statue.[19][20][21] Funds were also contributed by Public Sector Undertakings under the Corporate Social Responsibility scheme.[22]

Statue of Unity under construction in August 2016

The statue under construction in January 2018

Approximate heights of various notable statues:
1. Statue of Unity 240 m (790 ft) (incl. 58 m (190 ft) base)
2. Spring Temple Buddha 153 m (502 ft) (incl. 25 m (82 ft) pedestal and 20 m (66 ft) throne)
3. Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World) 93 m (305 ft) (incl. 47 m (154 ft) pedestal)
4. The Motherland Calls 87 m (285 ft) (incl. 2 m (6 ft 7 in) pedestal)
5. Christ the Redeemer 38 m (125 ft) (incl. 8 m (26 ft) pedestal)
6. Michelangelo's David 5.17 m (17.0 ft) (excl. 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) plinth)

A consortium comprising Turner Construction, Michael Graves and Associates and the Meinhardt Group supervised the project. The project took 57 months to complete – 15 months for planning, 40 months for construction and 2 months for handing over by the consortium.[23] The total cost of the project was estimated to be about ₹2,063 crore (equivalent to ₹28 billion or US$350 million in 2020) by the Government.[17] The tender bids for the first phase were invited in October 2013 and were closed in November 2013.[24]

Narendra Modi, then serving as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, laid the statue's foundation stone on 31 October 2013, the 138th anniversary of Patel's birth.[25][26]

Indian infrastructure company Larsen & Toubro won the contract on 27 October 2014 for its lowest bid of ₹2,989 crore (equivalent to ₹41 billion or US$510 million in 2020) for the design, construction and maintenance of the statue.[27][28] L&T commenced the construction on 31 October 2014. In the first phase of the project, ₹1,347 crore was earmarked for the main statue, ₹235 crore for the exhibition hall and convention centre, ₹83 crore for the bridge connecting the memorial to the mainland and ₹657 crore for the maintenance of the structure for a duration of 15 years after its completion.[27][28] The Sadhu Bet hillock was flattened from 70 metres to 55 metres to lay the foundation of the statue.[10]

L&T employed over 3000 workers and 250 engineers in the statue's construction. The core of the statue used 210,000 cubic metres (7,400,000 cu ft) of cement and concrete, 6,500 tonnes of structural steel, and 18,500 tonnes of reinforced steel. The outer façade is made up of 1,700 tonnes of bronze plates and 1,850 tonnes of bronze cladding which in turn consists of 565 macro and 6000 micro panels. The bronze panels were cast in Jiangxi Tongqing Metal Handicrafts Co. Ltd (the TQ Art foundry) in China as facilities large enough for such casting were unavailable in India.[29][30][10] The bronze panels were transported over sea and then by road to a workshop near the construction site where they were assembled.[10]

Local tribals belonging to the Tadvi tribe opposed the land acquisition for the development of tourism infrastructure around the statue.[31] Around 300 activists were arrested ahead of unveiling of the statue.[32] People of Kevadia, Kothi, Waghodia, Limbdi, Navagam, and Gora villages opposed the construction of the statue and demanded the restitution of the land rights over 375 hectares (927 acres) of land acquired earlier for the dam as well as for the formation of a new Garudeshwar subdistrict. They also opposed the formation of Kevadia Area Development Authority (KADA) and the construction of the Garudeshwar weir-cum-causeway project. The government of Gujarat accepted most of their demands.[33]

Construction of the monument was completed in mid-October 2018; and the inaugural ceremony was held on 31 October 2018 (143rd birth anniversary of Vallabhbhai Patel), and was presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.[34][35] The statue has been described as a tribute to Indian engineering skills.[36]