Thursday, September 2, 2010

Cambodia to build South East Asia’s tallest tower

OJFall | Sep 02, 2010

Cambodia has announced plans to build South East Asia’s tallest skyscraper. The announcement made by Prime Minister Hun Sen, made this week, revealed that the master plan for the 1,820 ft, 555 m building, located about one kilometre from the Royal Palace has been approved.

Cambodia has been experiencing a property surge in recent years that has led to the development of several skyscrapers, including the recently completed Canadia and Phnom Penh Towers. The schedule for the construction of the building has not yet been announced, but it will be built by Cambodian company, Overseas Cambodia Investment Corp., owned by tycoon Pung Khiav Se.

Preliminary estimates suggest the building would cost $200 million, but the project’s design, which would include areas for retail, hotel, residential and entertainment, is still being studied by experts and other government ministers.

With an economy that was almost entirely rebuilt following Vietnam’s 1978 invasion that unseated the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia’s economy has enjoyed growth rates of 10 and 5 per cent in recent years, sinking to 1.5 per cent in 2009. A largely agrarian society with 31 per cent of the population below the poverty line, the necessity of this most recent urban development will undoubtedly face international scrutiny.

The announcement also comes weeks after Vietnam revealed a 528m tower to be built by PetroVietnam Construction Joint Stock Corporation (PVC) in Hanoi and to be completed by 2014.

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