Gandhinagar: Over 2.15 lakh square feet of glass, about 7,000 metric tonnes of steel and 50,000 cubic metres of concrete have been used to build the state’s tallest building, which was completed in 14 months and inaugurated by Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

This state-of-the-art, 28-storied structure is the first tower to be to built within the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) that is being planned as a global hub for financial services.

“With the GIFT project, we are setting a benchmark for the whole world about how one can deliver financial services, technological security, real time operations, multiple activities etc from a single place, at the same time,” said Modi after inaugurating the tower that has been built at a cost of Rs 400 crore.

Modi pointed out that the towers (about 110 buildings) being built in GIFT City will be a “point of reference for all future new constructions and a catalytic agent for creation of new cities within the country”.

“We have used over 2.15 lakh feet of double glazed glass as facade of the 122-metre high building. These are energy-efficient glasses as they let in 33% more natural light and cut down on the heat,” said Satya Prakash, vice-president, IL&FS Township and Assets Ltd.

GIFT Company Ltd (GIFTCL), which is in-charge of the project, is a 50:50 joint venture company between Gujarat Urban Development Company Limited and Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS).

A 400-nozzle machine from Europe that creates a virtual waterfall welcomes visitors at the entrance of the newly built tower. On the opening day, the water fall created a map of India and carried the message “IL&FS welcomes Chief Minister Narendra Modi”.

The tower, constructed by L&T, has 14 high-speed elevators, collapsible bridges (between the first tower and the second tower under construction) for fire evacuation and is fully illuminated with LED lighting systems.

Four memoranda of understanding (MoUs) were signed for the GIFT project at the inaugural event, including an MoU for a primary school.