OSAKA (Kyodo) -- Construction of a life-sized Gundam robot statue from the popular Japanese sci-fi anime "Mobile Suit Gundam" was completed this week at the venue of the World Expo in Osaka next year.

Hoisted by a crane, the giant statue's head was attached to its body next to Japanese toymaker Bandai Namco's futuristic spaceport-like Gundam Next Future Pavilion on Wednesday, ready for the opening of the exposition next spring.

Kneeling on one knee with its right hand extended skyward, the 49-ton Gundam statue measures 17 meters to its fingertips.

"The statue's posture, with one arm extended towards the sky, symbolizes reaching out to the future and paving the way to a new era of the universe together with mankind," Bandai Namco Group Chief Gundam Officer Hiroshi Sakakibara said.

"As people gather from around the world at this expo, we hope our pavilion will be a place of inspiration to think about the universe and the future," he added.

This will be the first life-sized Gundam statue to be exhibited in the Kansai area of western Japan.

The 2025 World Expo will be held on Yumeshima, a manmade island in Osaka Bay, from April 13 through Oct. 13 next year.