The city is all set to have the country’s first moving tower made of stainless steel. As part of the Golden Goals Programme of the Gujarat government, the Standing Committee of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) awarded the work to Oriental Manufacturers.

The company is run by 26-year-old Green Card holder entrepreneur Vishwesh Patel, son of GPCC president Siddharth Patel.

There was no provision for this project in the AMC annual budget for 2009-10, but provision for special allocation is being made in the budget.

Estimated to cost Rs 5.58 crore initially, the 25.2-metre tall structure should be completed in two years once the prototype design is approved.

A team of experts led by Subir Kumar Saha, professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Delhi, along with two others did the technical evaluation of the bid last month. The proposal forwarded by Municipal Commissioner I P Gautam says: “No such structure exists within the current knowledge.”

Stup Consultants will check the civil structure proofs, while IIT Delhi will check the structural design prototype.

Even as a suitable location is yet to be found, the National Institute of Design had already submitted a feasibility study report this January. The study was about the weight, shaft design, bearing selection and design, wind load analysis, control system design, maintenance cost and estimation.

The proposal says: “The dynamic design has to be made on the basis of its prototype design. The tower design will be made only after testing the prototype design… the structure will have maximum rectangular base of cross section.”

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