VIJAYAWADA: The five tower multi-storied Secretariat being built in Amaravati is set to have many firsts to its credit. The Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) said that it is the first Secretariat in the world to be 212 metres tall and the first building in the country to have a twin elevator system and the first to have a rooftop helipad. It is already known that the upcoming Secretariat is the first tower to use diagrid structural system instead of the conventional columns.
APCRDA commissioner Cherukuri Sreedhar said the tower with 50 floors will be the tallest Secretariat in the world. “We are building five towers — four 40-floors tower and one 50-floors tower. The building is going to be about 50 metres taller than the United Nations Secretariat Building in New York, which is around 152 metres tall,” the commissioner said.
The new Secretariat of Andhra Pradesh would be the second tallest government building in the world after the Metropolitan Government Building in Tokyo, which is 243 metres high.
Another unique feature of the five-tower building, which is being built on a sprawling 41 acres of land in Amaravati, is the twin lift system. “For the first time in India, we are going for twin lifts. Usually there will be only one car in each shaft, but we will have two cars. There will be in-built intelligent system, which ensures efficient and smart vertical transportation,” Sreedhar added.
He also appraised Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for incorporating the unique features of the Secretariat at the Collectors’ Conference held on Thursday and Friday.
The APCRDA chief also maintained that the Secretariat, for which works have already commenced, will be the first one in the country to have a rooftop helipad on the 15th floor, above the Chief Minister’s office. “A new technology, diagrid structural system, is also being used for the first time in our country, where there will be no columns to ensure more space,” Sreedhar remarked.
As per APCRDA officials, the execution works have already commenced. “The excavation works for all the five towers has been completed. The raft foundation has also been laid. The superstructure works for the fifth tower, which has the CMO and 50 floors, will begin from mid-December,” another senior official added. The APCRDA officials are planning to ensure that the major share of works of all the five towers are ready by May 2019.
Other features
Site area: 41 acres
No of towers: five
Towers 1, 2, 3 and 4: 40 floors
Tower 5 (GAD and CMO):
50 floors
Total built-up area: 69.5L sq ft
estimated cost: `4,000 cr
Launched works: `2,271 crore
Contractors: Tower 5 by NCC Ltd, Towers 3 and 4 by L&T, Towers 1 and 2 by Shapoorji Pallonji Company
Many firsts
First Secretariat in the world to be 212 metres tall
First building in the country to have a twin elevator system
First Secretariat to have a rooftop helipad