The Statue of Unity has been under construction in India for the last three years and it is now finally set for a 2018 opening. It is double the height of the Statue of Liberty and is set to tower at massive 600 feet. This will make it the world’s tallest statue surpassing the Spring Temple Budha in China that stands just a little over 500 feet.
The Statue of Unity is designed in the memory of Vallabhbhai Sardar Patel, who was one of the figures of India’s independence movement in the 20th century and is known as the Iron Man of India. The world’s tallest statue is being built in the Indian state of Gujarat on a river island that will be connected to the mainland via a long bridge.
There will be a visitor centre and a museum with a viewing deck built into the chest of the statue. The initial phase of the project will cost around $460 million and further phases are planned to increase the footprint of the statue, including a hotel and a convention centre.
The massive statue’s design is being managed by a multi-firm consortium including Turner Construction, the firm behind Burj Khalifa. The last couple of years has seen two concrete cores successfully built, around which structural steel scaffolding will be erected to support the bronze outer panels that give the statue its shape.
The world’s tallest statue ented the final phase of construction recently when the first bronze panel was installed. We will see its true form emerging in the next couple of months. This record might not remain for long as another Indian state is looking to break it even before it is set.
The Shiv Smarak monument laid its foundation in 2016, with an estimated competition date set for 2021. This extraordinary statue dedicated to a 17th-century warrior king is planned to be 690 feet (210 m) high, or a mind-blowing 885 feet (270 m) high if including its gigantic base.