2,500 labourers, including Chinese, working round the clock to complete Statue of Unity

(Image: Statue of Unity website)

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26 Aug, 2025 12:21

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Construction of the Statue of Unity, in memory of India’s first Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is taking shape in Gujarat.

Once complete, the 182-metre structure will be the tallest statue in the world and will dwarf the Spring Temple Buddha in China, which is currently the world's biggest statue at 128 metres.

According to a report by news agency Agence France Presse (AFP), an army of 2,500 workers — including several hundred Chinese labourers — are working against time to install 5,000 squares of bronze cladding on the façade of the statue.

The state is scheduled to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi  on the 138^th birth anniversary of Patel on October 31.

The structure is being built on a public–private partnership (PPP) basis by engineering giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) under the supervision of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam (SSNNL).

Once complete, the landmark — taller than the Statue of Liberty in New York — is expected to attract a large number of tourists. Visitors will be able to access the viewing gallery at a height of 153 metres.

The Rs 3,000-crore statue, overlooking the Sardar Sarovar Dam, is the pet project of the prime minister. Modi had laid the foundation stone of the project when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Ghanshyam Shah, a former professor of class politics at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) told the news agency, "Modi has used Patel's legacy a lot in his election campaigns. He is likely to use the Statue of Unity during his upcoming campaigns, but I am worried about how it will influence voters."

A recent report in Business Today had suggested that central public sector undertakings (CPSUs) such as the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Oil India (OIL) have been pulled up by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) for together contributing Rs 3,000 crore to the Statue of Unity from funds earmarked for corporate social responsibility.