Scaling New Heights: India's Obsession With Tall Structures

India will soon be home to world's tallest statue, tallest railway bridge and the tallest residential tower.

With massive urbanisation and shortage of land, Indian cities are now growing vertically, building skyscrapers, thus, redefining the benchmark every time a new structure is constructed. Sky is our new obsession. 

Until recently, most modern Indian buildings became iconic because of their shape and design, for instance, Delhi's Statesman House (hollow cylinder-shaped), Pune's Infosys building (rugby ball-shaped), Hyderabad's Fisheries Board building (giant fish-shaped), DLF Gateway in Gurgaon (shape of a ship), among others. However, this trend has changed, and now, new constructions in India aspire to scale new heights beyond shape and design.

Catching the trend, PropGuide lists some of the proposed and under-construction iconic tall structures in India:

Statue of Unity, Gujarat

(Statueofunity.in)

Being built in the memory of India's freedom fighter Sardar Vallabhai Patel, the Statue of Unity will be the world's tallest statue when completed. At 182m, this will be double the height of the Statue of Liberty and 29m taller than the current title-holder, the Spring Temple Buddha in Henan, China. The project, which started in October 2014, will cost around Rs 2989 crore. Larsen and Turbo (L&T) group had won the bid for design, construction and maintenance of the statue.

Chenab Bridge, Jammu and Kashmir

(Government of Jammu & Kashmir)

Chenab Bridge is part of the Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Line (JURL) project being undertaken by the Ministry of Indian Railways. The 1,315m-long bridge is being built at a height of 359 m. Once completed, this will be the world's tallest railway bridge. The project is expected to be completed by March 2016.

World One, Mumbai

( Group)

Under construction in Lower Parel in Mumbai, World One has claimed to become the world's tallest residential tower after its completion. Launched in 2011, the project is expected to be completed in 2016. Spread on a 17.5-acre land, the structure will cost around Rs 20 billion. It will be a 117-storey building and will have more than 300 luxury apartments.

The developer, Group, has appointed UAE-based Arabian Construction Company as the contractor for the project. This company was also the main contractor for Abu Dhabi's Etihad Towers.

Business District, Port Trust

In August 2015, Union Minister of Shipping Nitin Gadkari announced that his ministry is drawing up plans to build a business district on Port Trust land, which will be the tallest commercial building in the country. The 130-storey building is expected to cost more than Rs 1000 crore. It will mostly have offices along with other world-class amenities.

Delhi's First 100-Storey Building

The Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) announced in January 2015 that it is going to construct the capital's first 100-storey building in Karkardooma, East , over the next three to four years. Expected to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 2,500 crore, the project will be home to 3,000-4,000 families and will also have commercial and recreational areas.

Sanjeevaiah Park Tower, Hyderabad

Telegana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao announced in November 2014 that his government would build the world's tallest tower in Sanjeevaiah Park in Hyderabad. However, the project is yet to take shape.