8.7.10

Ahmedabad's Moving Tower to shift to Sabarmati riverfront


The ambitious 82-feet ‘Moving Tower’ proposed to be built in Kankaria by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation will now be set up on the Sabarmati riverfront. Claimed to be an engineering marvel, the robotic steel tower will twist, change shapes and colours. After deciding last year that putting it up at Kankaria was not “aesthetically suitable”, the AMC now says it will be integrated into the Sabarmati riverfront at a site near the Vasna barrage. The tower was broadly designed by National Institute of Design and Indian Institute of Technology at Delhi had done the feasibility report. Initially, the tower was to come up near Naginawadi in Kankaria lake and later two more sites were shortlisted, one being a city square and the other being Science city. Both the locations were rejected for reasons of being “far away” from the city centre. Now, AMC authorities have zeroed in on Vasna barrage to set up the tower. The standing committee’s final approval is awaited on Thursday.Standing committee chairman Asit Vora said, “The moving tower will be integrated with Sabarmati riverfront project. We have decided on Vasna barrage for the structure but design approval is yet to be done.” To begin with, the soil and wind analysis of the site will have to be done. The first tender for the project was cleared by the standing committee in October, 2009 and the contract was given to Oriental Manufacturers Private Limited (OMPL) for constructing it at an estimated cost of Rs 4 crore in 10 months. The tower was to symbolise the city’s steely resolve to fight all odds, said OMPL director Jigar Patel. “The design phase is critical and once it is finalised we will go ahead with the project with AMC’s approval,” he said.

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