The construction of the world’s third-tallest building has begun in China’s Wuhan City, as its property developer, Shanghai Greenland Group committed to pump up 30 billion yuan (S$5.9 billion) to develop the project. The project’s expected completion date is 2015.
Shanghai Greenland Group, a leading real estate developer in China, will build the 606m Wuhan Greenland Centre in central China. The property spans 3 million sqm and will comprise of luxury hotels, apartments and a conference centre.
“Wuhan is a very important city in central China,” said Zhang Yuliang, chairman and president of Shanghai Greenland. “It’s transiting from a regional centre to an international city – it has a huge market potential and it’s necessary to construct a landmark building here.”
China is set to become the world’s second-largest economy this year. Its 6.6 percent economic growth for the third quarter is more than three times that of the US, driving more investment in the fastest growing economy in the world.
“Chinese developers are moving inland and into second tier cities because there are fewer sites left in major cities,” said Fu Qi, an analyst at China Real Estate Information Corp. “In inland cities, the best thing is to build landmark buildings because they help build closer ties with local governments.”
Wuhan Greenland Centre, which will be located 900 km west of Shanghai, will be higher than Shanghai’s World Financial Centre. It will be the third tallest building in the world, after the world’s tallest building, the 828-metre Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and the 632-metre Shanghai Tower, which is scheduled for completion in 2014.