Shanghai Seeks to Lift Gloom with 128-Storey Tower
Work starts on 632m-tall Shanghai Tower, which will be ready by 2014
29 November 2008
SHANGHAI: Three months after opening the world’s second-tallest skyscraper, Shanghai is about to start construction of an even taller building, defying an economic slowdown and slumping property values across the country.
Work on the 632m-tall Shanghai Tower, expected to cost US$2.2 billion (S$3.3 billion), will begin in the city’s Lujiazui financial district today and is expected to be completed in 2014.
Mr. Gu Jianping, managing director of the Shanghai Tower Construction and Development Company, said planning for the project began 15 years ago and the tower is going ahead as scheduled despite the current economic climate.
He added that by starting work in an economic downturn, construction materials would be cheaper.
‘At a time of financial crisis, this kind of mega-project will have a much bigger positive impact on society than any regular-sized infrastructure project,’ Mr. Gu told a news conference on Thursday.
‘It will help boost people’s confidence, which has been battered by the recent financial turmoil.’
The tower has an innovative double-layer ‘glass skin’ that creates a 128-storey atrium between the glass enclosed offices and the tower’s outer surface. Besides offices, the skyscraper will also house retail space, a hotel and cultural facilities.
Designers say it will be one of China’s greenest skyscrapers - its spiral shape will minimise wind resistance and energy consumption, and the top of the building will house 54 wind turbines.
The tower is being built by a consortium of three state companies. The partners are Shanghai-listed Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone Development, Shanghai Chengtou Corporation, a city government-backed conglomerate, and the Shanghai Construction Group, one of China’s largest construction contractors.
Mr. Gu said they were confident about financing, with 5.4 billion yuan (S$1.2 billion) in registered capital and strong government backing, but he declined to give further details.
He said that by the time the building is opened, China’s economy is likely to be booming again.
The tower will dwarf two other famous skyscrapers in the city: the 492m bottle opener-shaped Shanghai World Financial Centre - currently the tallest building in Shanghai - and the 420.5m Jin Mao Tower. It will also surpass the 509m Taipei 101 tower in Taiwan, the world’s tallest skyscraper.
But all of those buildings will be eclipsed by the Burj Dubai, now under construction in the United Arab Emirates. The Burj is expected to be roughly 800m tall, though its exact height has been kept secret.
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Shanghai Seeks to Lift Gloom with 128-Storey Tower
Work starts on 632m-tall Shanghai Tower, which will be ready by 2014
29 November 2008
SHANGHAI: Three months after opening the world’s second-tallest skyscraper, Shanghai is about to start construction of an even taller building, defying an economic slowdown and slumping property values across the country.
Work on the 632m-tall Shanghai Tower, expected to cost US$2.2 billion (S$3.3 billion), will begin in the city’s Lujiazui financial district today and is expected to be completed in 2014.
Mr. Gu Jianping, managing director of the Shanghai Tower Construction and Development Company, said planning for the project began 15 years ago and the tower is going ahead as scheduled despite the current economic climate.
He added that by starting work in an economic downturn, construction materials would be cheaper.
‘At a time of financial crisis, this kind of mega-project will have a much bigger positive impact on society than any regular-sized infrastructure project,’ Mr. Gu told a news conference on Thursday.
‘It will help boost people’s confidence, which has been battered by the recent financial turmoil.’
The tower has an innovative double-layer ‘glass skin’ that creates a 128-storey atrium between the glass enclosed offices and the tower’s outer surface. Besides offices, the skyscraper will also house retail space, a hotel and cultural facilities.
Designers say it will be one of China’s greenest skyscrapers - its spiral shape will minimise wind resistance and energy consumption, and the top of the building will house 54 wind turbines.
The tower is being built by a consortium of three state companies. The partners are Shanghai-listed Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone Development, Shanghai Chengtou Corporation, a city government-backed conglomerate, and the Shanghai Construction Group, one of China’s largest construction contractors.
Mr. Gu said they were confident about financing, with 5.4 billion yuan (S$1.2 billion) in registered capital and strong government backing, but he declined to give further details.
He said that by the time the building is opened, China’s economy is likely to be booming again.
The tower will dwarf two other famous skyscrapers in the city: the 492m bottle opener-shaped Shanghai World Financial Centre - currently the tallest building in Shanghai - and the 420.5m Jin Mao Tower. It will also surpass the 509m Taipei 101 tower in Taiwan, the world’s tallest skyscraper.
But all of those buildings will be eclipsed by the Burj Dubai, now under construction in the United Arab Emirates. The Burj is expected to be roughly 800m tall, though its exact height has been kept secret.
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