Here's Why Mumbai Was Chosen To Built World's Largest Elevator

Mumbai, the financial capital city, recently got world’s largest passenger elevator at Jio World Centre located in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC).

In an exclusive conversation with Mumbai Live, Amit Gossain, Managing Director, Kone India talked about the reason for choosing the city for this masterpiece, challenges and safety measures taken into consideration for the elevator.

KONE Elevators India, a fully owned subsidiary of KONE Corporation, a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, built this pure engineering marvel.

“Mumbai is an international hub, Jio wanted to create something that is a postcard for the city and would offer a world-class experience to those who landed here. They have planned for a phase-wise opening with the Jio Drive, the Fountain,” he explained.

It is spread over a floor area of 25.78 sq metre, this 16 tonne, 5-stop elevator was carefully designed, built and tested from the most optimum people flow analysis, with high quality and safety aspects built in. The lift can carry more than 200 people at one go.

Explaining further, Gossain shared: “Safety, for this project, was of utmost importance. During its construction, the elevator was hoisted on 18 pulleys and 9 ropes for optimal safety. This engineering marvel was designed and tested by an experienced team before its launch.”

Designed as a centerpiece of the collaboration-focused design, the elevator provides visitors a glimpse into the expansive world of Jio World Centre, BKC, which is India’s new landmark business and cultural destination, located in the heart of Mumbai.

While at the expo, it was incredible to watch a seamless and safe people flow with 188 world-class elevators and escalators installed by KONE at the Jio World Centre, and each product is a masterpiece in itself. 

“How can we make our elevators and escalators smarter, smoother, safer and more intuitive? These are the questions we constantly ask ourselves. And it’s this curiosity, that leads us to innovate and offer sustainable products and break-through innovations that go the next level in making the buildings safer, smarter and more intelligent,” said Amit Gossain, Managing Director, KONE Elevators India during the press conference.

Besides KONE India team, the KONE Global team of Major Projects experts collaborated along to design and deliver this most challenging and complex project.

Sharing about his experiences and challenges, he exclaimed: “The machine carrying the elevator is usually retrofitted on top of the elevator, whereas in this case, it has been retrofitted at the bottom. The machine is larger than the elevator itself. Working on a similar scale project in London had given the team an experience to handle the scale and size. However, they had to work around the climate conditions of India in order to make the elevator suitable for the Indian weather.”

“We are always up for the challenge; be it in size, speed or in complexity, each project needs careful planning and top-notch project management skills. Together with our customers, not only we innovate and create solutions that users appreciate, but also create an experience that they can't find anywhere else,” he added.