C. R.

Alimchandani
... an Odyssey

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Chander R. Alimchandani, the distinguished Civil Engineer,
is an acknowledged authority in the field, both in India and internationally.
Presently the Chairman and Managing Director of STUP Consultants Pvt.
Limited, he has been honoured with many coveted distinctions for his
outstanding contributions and dedicated services in the field of Civil
Engineering.

Alimchandani is a man with a pioneering zeal who is always willing to take

up fresh challenges. Half a century earlier, in 1957, as a young man fresh out
of the University of Pune with a first class first in civil engineering, he said,
“I want to be an outstanding achiever and create outstanding structures”,
and he proceeded to do just that, designing major structures that have won
international accolades and set new standards in the design and construction
of concrete and steel structures.

A man of varied interests with a phenomenal memory, he is very passionate

about ancient and modern art, archaeology and classical music.

This is one more tribute to the man’s perseverance and dedication, giving
us a few insights into his multi faceted personality and inspiring us with his
brilliance.

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 Childhood & Early Youth
“Chander, my older brother, was always a highly spirited person. Once, as a young
boy, after a disagreement with his parents, he ran away from home. The problem
for him was how to convert his few chaar annas and ek rupayyas into bigger money.
That was when he had his first ‘Eureka’ moment. He placed the coins on the local
railway tracks, made his bed between the tracks and waited for the force of the
train to act on the coins.

As a college student the problems to be solved were of a different nature. Chander

would either tune his vocal chords to produce a serenade or play his harmonica - all
this, to study and enjoy the effect of these sounds on the opposite gender.

One rainy day, the Principal of National College was intrigued by what was
happening outside the college gates. He noticed a crowd gathering around our
young man who seemed to be hard at work. After deciding on a puddle, Chander
picked his subject, invariably a member of the opposite sex, and then tried to
figure out how much stress was needed to carry the load across the puddle. The
problem was solved very easily when the lady was deposited on the other side of
the puddle. Soon, to save himself the hard labour he resorted to throwing his coat
over the puddle and helping the young ladies across. There probably germinated
the idea of building bridges. Needless to say, our father got to hear about his son’s
‘good’ deeds!

His social skills however, did not particularly help him master the curriculum of the
first year of his engineering college. Some one of a great stature had to work towards
morphing his success in extracurricular activities into success at academics. Who
could have been better suited for this job than our very own Mother, of whom I am
sure, he was petrified at the time. She packed her bags, left the family behind in
Dharwad for a couple of months and ensured that her ingenious son finally passed
his first year. He was then transferred to Poona engineering college, where, under
the watchful eye of Prof. Tolani (well known to our father who was also a professor)
he blazed the path of academic brilliance.

Money was never, and to date is not, the motivation. Creativity, ingenuity and
the pleasures of challenging structures and varied materials drove him to select
a career path where he learnt his craft from the Masters themselves and worked
hard at making himself the successful man he is today.“

- Subash Alimchandani

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Father, Prof. Rupchand Alimchandani Mother Haribai Alimchandani

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 Engineering School
“Alimchandani, a dear friend…

A genius with true focus and dedication that permeates all avenues of his life,
whether construction of the most difficult structure or completion of a project
and extending true friendship.

I will always remember him waking me up, before the sun rose, to study in the
engineering college in Pune for my finals, allowing me in the evening to play
tennis – extracting the very best of life with true zeal.

He is a passionate man with truth in profession and friendship.”

- G.L. Raheja

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 Inspiration & Mentors
In 1958, after his Bachelors in Civil Engineering and having worked in Mumbai for a
year, Chander Alimchandani was awarded a fellowship by the French Government
to undertake a Post Graduate theoretical and practical course in prestressed
concrete, with a distinguished faculty of experts, under the leadership of Mr.
Eugene Freyssinet, the inventor of Prestressed Concrete - regarded as the world’s
greatest structural engineer of the last century.

Alimchandani was inspired and motivated by Freyssinet. He says,”I was attracted to

this field because it was new,would save on materials and could bring down costs of
large structures which was in keeping with Jawaharlal Nehru’s vision of developing
technologies that could be effectively widely applied to the third world”
He had the distinction of being, in the opinion of those in charge, the most
competent Indian to be trained by the Societé Technique Pour L’Utilisation
De La Precontrainte (STUP, France) and worked closely with Yves Guyon and
Pierre Xercavins, both prominent colleagues of Freyssinet. By the time Chander
Alimchandani arrived back in India in 1960, he had designed important prestressed
concrete bridges, silos, sludge digesters and several buildings.

In India, he became Technical Director of Atur India Pvt Ltd., which, at that time
was a medium size construction company, set up for specializing in prestressed
concrete structures. This experience was invaluable to Alimchandani, as he
applied his international training in prestressed concrete technology to the local
construction environment in India.
Lalit Sangtani recalls that Alimchandani had a great capacity to recognize and
nurture talent. He had the ability to make and sustain friendships across the
industry.
His tireless efforts and search for excellence was instrumental in helping ATUR India
rise to the challenges of a developing nation.

But in 1962, STUP recalled Chander Alimchandani to Paris.10 days prior to his
departure he married his lovely bride, Nirmala, whose incredible sense of humour
enabled her to see the lighter side of every situation. She has remained like a rock
by his side through all his trials and tribulations. Patiently she has borne his odd
working hours and the little idiosyncrasies which are the hallmark of all great
men.

As a Senior Engineer in Paris, Alimchandani worked directly under the guidance

of Pierre Xercavins on various projects such as the design of large sectioned
prestressed concrete ventilation ducts supporting the carriageway for the 11 km
long Monte Blanc tunnel and multi span prestressed concrete portal frames for
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 carrying the six storey ‘Faculty of Sciences’ over the Metro in Paris. He also designed
a 1-km long bridge with no parallel piers over the Parc des Expositions in Paris.
He requested and worked in STUP’s Construction Engineering and Construction
Assistance Departments, where he assisted in the design of special construction
equipment like launching girders, cantilever construction equipment, formwork
for prestressed reservoirs and steam cured precast spans. He also visited sites to
see how the equipment which was designed was being used successfully.

At about the same time, a Frenchman from STUP, Paris, Serge Kovanyko, was
working in India as a prestressed concrete expert for Dr. Homi Bhabha, Head of the
Department of Atomic Energy. With the encouragement of Dr. Bhabha, Kovanyko
introduced to STUP,Paris the possibility of creating an Indo-French design office.
Yves Guyon, Technical Director of STUP, Paris, possessed a missionary fervor
and visualized that India had the human potential to play the role of a leader in
prestressed technology. Thus under his Chairmanship, in 1963, STUP India was set
up in Mumbai by Serge Kovanyko who was Chief Engineer. Chander Alimchandani
was sent by STUP Paris to join the firm as Deputy Chief Engineer.

“STUP India was set up in 1963 and obtained a contract for the design of the
Netaji Subash Bridge in Ahmedabad, from Tolani Brothers who gave an advance
of Rs, 50,000/- which ensured the initial working capital of the Company.
Chander Alimchandani joined as my Deputy Chief Engineer. Besides ensuring
good commercial and diplomatic relations with Mr. G.P. Tolani, in my absence, he
successfully repaired and closed a temporary crack during the construction of the
bridge through the expert use of prestressed cables.

During our first years we worked on the design of many bridges and designed a
prestressed concrete dome, instead of the steel dome designed by the Canadians,
as a security container over the Reactor of RAPP 1 in Rajasthan. At that time,
without the use of computers, I had to investigate, manually, the effects on the
concrete of a very high increase in pressures and temperatures due to a possible
nuclear accident.

At the same time, using his education in France, Chander started designing
elaborate details of launching girders which were very useful. The design cell of
STUP India was growing fast and he was extremely valuable for selecting and
training young new engineers.

I left STUP India in the able hands of Chander just before the Christmas of 1966. “
- Serge Kovanyko
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Yves Guyon Henri Lemoine

Eugene Freyssinet

Jacques Vattaire Pierre Xercavins

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 Awards & Accomplishments
Chander Alimchandani has been a keynote speaker and lecturer at various national
and international technical seminars and symposiums. Although his awards and
achievements are innumerable, listed below are a select few of his prestigious
ones.

1. In 1977 he was awarded the first ACTIM Medal by the Government of France,
for being the most ‘Outstanding Professional’ from among 35,000 renowned
experts trained by ACTIM, an agency of the French Government, over a period
of 20 years.

2. In 1986 he was awarded the FIP Medal by the Federation Internationale de

la Precontrainte (FIP), for outstanding technical achievements in the field of
Prestressed concrete. He was the one of the 2 recipients of the FIP Medal from
the developing countries, out of about 40 FIP Medals awarded during the
previous 4 decades.

3. In 2002 he was awarded a Gold Medal at the First fib Congress 2002 at
Osaka, for outstanding achievements in the field of Concrete Technology and
structures. He was one of the 7 outstanding engineers from all over the world
to be so honoured.

4. In 2004, at the symposium held in Shanghai, he was awarded by IABSE, Zurich,

‘The International Award of Merit in Structural Engineering’ in recognition of
his major contributions to the design of outstanding bridges and structures,
as well as to the development of Prestressed Concrete structures and post
tensioning technology in India and other parts of the world.

Chander Alimchandani is also affiliated to several National and International Asso-

ciations and has been 1978-86 Vice President of FIP, (now fib), 1985-86 President,
Institution of Engineers (India), Chairman, Scientific Committee of FIP Congress,
Delhi, since 1987 Fellow, Indian National Academy of Engineering, since 1991
Member Permanent Committee, IABSE, 1995-2003 Member Technical Committee,
IABSE, several times Vice President of Indian Roads Congress and Member Scien-
tific Committees of FIP Symposia: 1996, London, 1997, South Africa and for 2002 fib
Congress, Osaka.

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 Milestones
In 1967, Chander Alimchandani became the Chief Engineer of STUP India and in
1975, at the age of 40, he became the company’s first Chairman and Managing
Director. Under his stewardship, his unique philosophy of management by
objectives and consensus building, he has been able to create a nucleus of brilliant
and dedicated engineers and architects, who from the beginning have created
many outstanding structures which have won international recognition. Some of
these projects have established world records at the time of their construction.

Today, STUP Consultants Private Ltd. has a staff strength of 1350 people who
have applied their skill to nearly every field of civil and structural engineering
and architecture including Bridges, Roads, Railway Infrastructure, Airports, Ports
and Harbours, Irrigation and Public Health Engineering, Nuclear and other Power
Project Structures, Industrial Projects, Urban Development and Buildings.

Under Chander Alimchandani’s dynamic leadership, landmarks have been achieved

in every field, projects have been carried out in 30 countries, and technology has
been advanced, benefiting not only India but also other parts of Asia and Africa.

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The Yamuna Bridge at Kalpi: This cantilever bridge is 767m long with 2 end
spans of 43.5m and 8 intermediate spans of 85m. The contractors had no
previous experience of bridge construction and were provided help in design and
construction engineering. This was the one of the early cantilever construction
bridges in India where the superstructure is integral with piers

The Ganga Bridge at Ghazipur: This 2 lane bridge is a 1022 m long, and has
2 end spans of 43.5m and 11 intermediate spans of 85m. The bridge was built
by the cantilever construction method. The caissons for the foundations were
sunk 50m below water level. The contractors were doing cantilever construction
for the first time, and were provided with design and construction engineering
services to help them to carry out the work.

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 Reactor Building for 2 x 235 MW Nuclear Reactors at Madras
Atomic Power Project. These are double containment Reactor
Buildings with inner shells of prestressed concrete and outer shells
of reinforced rubble masonry. Conceived in 1967, it became the
safest and cheapest system of nuclear containments of its size in
the world. The double containment concept has been adopted by
France and many other countries for nuclear containments engi-
neered after 1968. MAPP is the only nuclear reactor in the world
then and now with an outer shell of reinforced stone masonry.

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Nuclear Reactor Building at Rajasthan Atomic Power Project: This was the first
use of prestressed concrete for Indian built nuclear reactor buildings. This latest
technology was rendered more appropriate in India using all locally available
materials, and substituting a steel dome with a prestressed concrete construction.
SCL provided the design and specialized construction assistance.

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 Air India Boeing 747 Hangar at Santacruz Airport, Mumbai:
The 96.6m long structural steel cantilever roof of the hangar, con-
sidered a world record for such a structure, is designed for Boe-
ing 747 Aircraft. The cantilever structure is anchored to rock by
means of specially coated corrosion-proof prestressed anchors for
which 24 x 8 mm dia. cables have been used. This is the longest
unbalanced cantilever roof in India even now.

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Indian Airlines Airbus Hangar at Santacruz Airport, Mumbai: An
Internationally acclaimed structure for its balanced cantilever roof of thin
prestressed concrete folded plates and backstays. Twin cantilever spans each 62.3
m continuous with a central span 27.4m. Overall length between cantilever tips
152 m and width 91.4 m

The Bhima Aqueduct is 947 m long with 41.5 m continuous spans, made of
precast prestressed segments. The shell is a truncated circular section and
achieves high hydraulic and structural efficiency. The deck is designed as a
thin (20 cm thick) shell, prestressed in 2 directions. The deck is constructed
by the match precast segmental construction method. The contractors had
never constructed a bridge before and design, construction engineering and
construction assistance was provided to help them comprehensively carry
out this work. This is the first aqueduct in India with match precast segmental
construction.

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 Prestigious Projects
Over the past 5 decades STUP has been involved in the construction of several
significant and prestigious projects.

Underpass Along West of Chord Road at the Intersection of Magadi Road-

Chord Road, Bangalore: The site is located in the western part of the Bangalore
and is at the intersection of Chord Road with Magadi Road ,Magadi road and Chord
Road Junction is a four legged skew type intersection. The underpass is a four lane
divided two way underpass along Chord Road and 2 Lane one way flyover with an
up ramp from Vijayanagar towards Majestic (Bangalore Bus Station)

Fourth Offshore Oil Berth, Butcher Island, Mumbai. For this project, being
engineered for the first time to take large oil tankers of 125,000 DWT – with two
times the capacity of previous berths of this size. Large precast concrete caissons
were towed and sunk 20 – 25 m of water. The construction was carried out by
Christiani and Nielson and NBCC. SCL did the entire design and construction
engineering.

275 m Tall Triple Steel Flue RC Chimney for 6 x 600 MW Sasan Ultra Mega
Power Project, Madhya Pradesh, India Two numbers of 275 m tall triple steel
flue RC chimneys with diameter varying from 24 m on top and 36.7m at base
and founded on annular raft are under construction at Sasan, India, for 4000MW
Thermal Power Station. Chimney shell is designed for basic wind speed of 150
kmph. In order to reduce the effects of across wind loads fundamental frequency
of the chimney shell is lowered by gradually increasing the thickness of shell in
top portion.

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The Vasai Creek Railway Bridge comprises 2 parallel decks having an aggregate
length of 4 km. It has spans of 48.5m, each weighing 750 t, which were precast,
shifted and launched into position by floatation. The contractors M/s BEL who
were earthwork contractors, had constructed only one bridge before. The design,
construction engineering and construction assistance were provided.

The Second Thane Creek bridge is a 6 lane bridge, 1.8 km long

and is an important link between Mumbai and the continent. New
technology was developed for casting its piers and foundations in
a dry condition within cofferdams at a depth below 22 m of sea
water. M/s UPSBC were the contractors and SCL provided design
services combined with the construction engineering of 1200 tons
of floating plant and construction assistance as required

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 Princess Street Flyover at Mumbai: A prominent landmark
since 1967, it is the country’s first curved prestressed concrete
flyover. The contractors - Bharucha and Motiwalla were constructing a
flyover for the first time. SCL provided design and construction
engineering services

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Interchange System at Al Ain, UAE: This prestressed concrete flyover,
designed for high-speed traffic, is 131 m long. It carries 3 lanes of traffic in each
direction and has a total deck width of 27.6 m.The design was carried out by
Europe Etudes and SCL. Construction assistance was provided by Freyssinet
International. The contractors Alwaha Engineering was constructing a bridge for
the first time.

Interchange System at Haza Al Maqam, Al Ain, UAE: The flyover is of

prestressed concrete construction and consists of two intermediate spans of
25 m and two end spans of 15.75m. With a total deck width of 27.6m, it carries
three lanes of traffic in each direction. The bridge used the precast segmental
construction method using match cast segments. The design was carried out
by Europe Etudes, France and SCL. Construction assistance was provided by
Freyssinet International.

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 P. V. Narasimha Rao Elevated Corridor at Hyderabad (11.6
kms. Length)This Elevated Expressway of 11.670 Kms is from
Mehidipatnam to Aramghar Junction on NH 7 along with a trumpet
interchange for the approach road to the International Airport .

The method of construction is by assembling match cast segments

by prestressing using overhead lauching.

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Grade Separated Interchange at Junction of NH-45-IRR at Kathipara, Chennai
Kathipara flyover involves design and construction of a clover leaf interchange in
the heart of Chennai City. The Structural portion involves 600m. long dual 12.0m
wide decks for the main via duct spans connecting the Inner ring road to Airport.
Four loops of approx.200m. length each connect to main via duct from Guindy –
Poonamallee Road. Voided slab superstructure in PSC and RC have been adopted
for super structure.

The Bridge at Bhagalpur across the River Ganga is 4.37 km long, the second
longest in India. Four types of prestressed bridge spans varying from 34 m to 120
m with foundation depths upto 50 m below Low Water Level (in 22 m standing
water) were required to span the 4 distinct regimes of the river in spate – approach,
main channel, flood plain and backwater zones. SCL carried out the entire design
and construction engineering of steel floating caissons and other more complex
portions of the enabling equipment. The contractors are M/s UPSBC.

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 The Simhadri Cooling Tower at Vishakhapat-
nam, built in 2001, is 165 m tall - the tallest in Asia.
A single natural draught cooling tower has been
provided for each 500 MW thermal power unit for
the first time in India. SCL did the structural engi-
neering and construction assistance of the more
difficult parts for NBCC who were the contractors.

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Containment Structures of Rajasthan Atomic Power Projects (RAPP) A new
record is set at RAPP-5&6 by constructing Raft of Unit-6 reactor building in 53
days from the first pour to its completion.
The Inner Containment (IC) is made of prestressed concrete, and is designed to
withstand an internal pressure of 1.73kg/sq.cm, due to any unforeseen incidents
occurring within the building. In addition, extreme environmental conditions,
including Safe Shutdown Earthquake (SSE) and extreme wind and hydrostatic
uplift forces are considered as part of the design basis.

Indira Sagar Dam, Irrigation and Hydro-electic, Madhya Pradesh The Dam is
located in the Khandwa District of Madhya Pradesh. It is a concrete gravity dam,
653 m in length, with a maximum height of 92 m. The spillway portion of the dam
consists of twenty numbers, 20 m wide gated spillways with 21 Nos. of piers. The
spillway gates are of the sector type, and are lifted hydraulically. The gates are 20
m 17 m in size, and extend from pier to pier. Each pier is 5 m in width.
Prestressed replaceable anchors are provided for the spillway gates. Since
prestressed gate anchors and load due to hydraulic hoist had not been
considered in the original design, the pier portion of spillway has been re-
engineered.

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 Hyderabad International Airport

Designed in association with Cowi Consultants, the Airport is

constructed on a Greenfield site, approximately 30 kilometers
south of downtown Hyderabad, the New Rajiv Gandhi Inter-
national Airport is built on an area of 5,400 acres and has the
longest runway of 4260m with code-F features among Indian
airports and able to handle the world’s largest passenger
aircraft, the Airbus A380. It has a capacity to handle 12 million
passengers.

The landmark Air Traffic Control tower of this airport, designed

by SCL, is the tallest in India.

The passenger terminal has 100,000 Sqm. floor area to facilitate

rapid transit between its Domestic and International concours-
es.

The roof has been designed with a seamless steel roofing

system extended upto a length of 72m and a width of about
400mm cut using special rollers. Smoke extraction of about 33%
in PTB is achieved by providing roof mounted smoke extractors.

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The Civic Centre located at Shah Alam, near Kuala Lumpur, rises 32 stories
high. An outer triangular tube, formed by closely spaced RCC mullions, monolithic
with peripheral RCC floor beams, and laterally stiffened by RCC ribbed floors,
carries the major part of horizontal and vertical loads down to 12 m deep
prestressed transfer girders which have a maximum span of 50 m. The transfer
girders are monolithic with 3, 5 storey high columns situated at the apices of the
triangle. The design was carried out by SCL in association with KTA Consultants of
Malaysia.

New Air India Hangar: has been designed to house two Boeing 747-400 aircraft
for servicing and repairs. A clear span of 129.5 m achieved through a tubular
space frame roof, makes this structure one of the largest in the country. The entire
roof, weighing 1100 metric tons, was assembled on ground and lifted to a height
of 21m with the help of hydraulically interconnected jacks. The contractors, M/s
Octamec were unable to continue the work due to financial difficulties. SCL
provided construction engineering, construction and management assistance to
help the owners complete the construction departmentally.

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 Legislative Assembly Building, Ghandhinagar,
Gujarat Legislative hall has a 42m diameter floor seating 232
legislators and 646 visitors, supported on a central column with
radiating reinforced concrete beams forming a beautiful styl-
ized flower capped by an octagonal domed concrete roof rising
to a central skylight. Fair faced concrete and daring yet delicate
structural forms create a modern building of monumental
beauty.

Seat of Government and Presidency, Accra, Ghana

16,750sqm complex includes presidential and vice presidential
offices, the president’s palace, ceremonial public spaces and
allied service buildings. Design creates a monumental form, de-
picts African culture in a progressive and contemporary man-
ner and incorporates symbols of the aspirations of the people
of Ghana. Design communicates power, stability, democracy
and freedom.

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and the journey continues .......

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