It will be the biggest statue in the world and will rise approximately 500 ft (150m) above the village of Bodhgaya in Bihar, one of the most popular pilgrimage sites for Buddhists, where, according to legend, Prince Siddhartha achieved enlightenment under the bodhi tree. The statue will sit on a 17-storey throne housing a prayer hall, a museum, exhibition halls, a library, an audio-visual theatre and an auditorium and will be surrounded by a 16-hectare park with meditation pavilions, fountains and pools. The project is expected to boost the economy of the state by encouraging tourism, besides providing jobs.

In addition to the statue, the buildings and grounds will house an array of religious, art and holy objects. From the park to the prayer hall and within the body of the statue, there will be paintings, statues, relief carvings, mosaics and other traditional forms of Buddhist art. Artists and artisans from various fields are being commissioned to produce art pieces that will serve as a source of inspiration and focus for all.

The original life-size sculpture was made under the guidance of Buddhist masters from the Himalayas. To ensure that the final structure has the same detail and proportion as the original artwork, the team has scanned the artist’s prototype to create a digitised surface model of the statue. Once the computer-aided-design model is complete, the structure engineers at Mott Macdonald, a UK-based engineering firm, will test the design. The structure must withstand high winds, extreme temperatures changes, seasonal rains, possible earthquakes and floods, air pollution and other yet unknown environment challenges for the next thousand years.

Although the project is still at a planning stage, the team of architects and engineers is conducting studies to determine which building material can ensure longevity. Bronze has been the traditional choice for Buddha statues for thousands of years because it is easy to cast and is considered a semi-precious metal.

Traditional alloys of bronze are difficult to weld and not corrosion resistant enough to last a millennium. Hence the project team has chosen a recently developed nickel-aluminum-bronze alloy for the skin. The alloy is suitable for welding, hence the individual plates of outer skin can be welded together before being hoisted up the scaffolding. The skin will be about 15 mm thick and will require 2,500 tonnes of bronze, or the equivalent of 125 tonnes of nickel. Inside the skin the structure will be divided into three main layers primary, secondary and tertiary. For the primary structure, at the core of the statue, designers are considering mild steel or reinforcement with stainless steel. The secondary structure will be made of mild steel as well. The tertiary structure — a 2-metre thick layer that lies inside the skin — will consist of a nickel-aluminum-bronze alloy, which would help prevent corrosion from leakage or condensation at the surface of the statue. The project is scheduled to be completed in five years.

The Maitreya Project will also have a hospital of international standards, which will be funded separately. The hospital will offer western, ayurvedic and Tibetan methods of treatment. Already active is the Universal Education School which over a period of time will be developed into a philosophical university of international standing.

Maitreya is envisaged to be a symbol of love and kindness for the next millennium. Individuals and companies from all over the world are involved in this project which is likely to be completed by 2005.