GANDHINAGAR: It's official. The proposed 182-metre high statue of Sardar Patel downstream of the Narmada dam will cost Rs 2,000 crore as against earlier estimates of Rs 1,000 crore.
The Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL) has invited expressions of interest from reputed consultants for the project. Already, state government officials are in talks with builders of Burj Khalifa - Samsung Construction & Technology (C&T) - to take up the project.
The state government proposes to rope in Gujarati diaspora, top business houses and general public to collect money for the project.
While officials in the SSNNL claimed money may not be a problem, a top aide of chief minister Narendra Modi said, "One has to take into account cost escalation while building such kind of a statue. It is possible that by the time the state government floats tenders, the cost of the project would have escalated to Rs 2,500 crore".
The Gujarat government has collected Rs 55 crore for the high-profile project. Of this, Rs 50 crore has been collected from different state public sector undertakings, while Rs 5 crore has been contributed by Adani group. The PSUs have provided money from their corporate social responsibility funds.
Called Statue of Unity, to be built on Sadhu island which is about 3.5 km downstream of Narmada dam, the state government has formed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust to implement the project.
As per the official note, the consultant will be required to do overall area planning, including spaces for hospitality, health, education, convention and training centres, development and formulation of tourism plan and provide technical and managerial assistance for bids to invite EPC contract.
toi
The Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL) has invited expressions of interest from reputed consultants for the project. Already, state government officials are in talks with builders of Burj Khalifa - Samsung Construction & Technology (C&T) - to take up the project.
The state government proposes to rope in Gujarati diaspora, top business houses and general public to collect money for the project.
While officials in the SSNNL claimed money may not be a problem, a top aide of chief minister Narendra Modi said, "One has to take into account cost escalation while building such kind of a statue. It is possible that by the time the state government floats tenders, the cost of the project would have escalated to Rs 2,500 crore".
The Gujarat government has collected Rs 55 crore for the high-profile project. Of this, Rs 50 crore has been collected from different state public sector undertakings, while Rs 5 crore has been contributed by Adani group. The PSUs have provided money from their corporate social responsibility funds.
Called Statue of Unity, to be built on Sadhu island which is about 3.5 km downstream of Narmada dam, the state government has formed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust to implement the project.
As per the official note, the consultant will be required to do overall area planning, including spaces for hospitality, health, education, convention and training centres, development and formulation of tourism plan and provide technical and managerial assistance for bids to invite EPC contract.
toi
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