O.J. Fall
Property Report
Cambodia’s plans announced in August to build South East Asia’s tallest tower at 555m continues to generate substantial discussion across the region and wider property industry.
The announcement comes at a time when the region seems to be engaged in a rather cold war-esque skyscraper battle, such as that which Stalin undertook against the US leaving great monoliths dotted across the Moscow cityscape.
Across South East Asia, led by Malaysia’s Petronas Towers, which were the world’s tallest building until 2004, each country has sought to redefine the region’s cityscape.
Thailand’s innovative 310m MahaNakhorn development, announced in 2009 and standing just 10m shy of the Eiffel Tower’s spire actually exceeds Singapore’s skyscraper collective that are limited to 280m by the proximity of the airport to the city centre.
As such Vietnam had, until Cambodia’s announcement, been at the van guard of this region’s ‘skyscraper race’. Parallels between Soviet Russia and Vietnam’s communist government aside, it seems that Vietnam is closer to grasping the nettle than any other party in the region. Call it a communist obstinacy or perhaps more realistically a further testament to Vietnam’s endurance and meteoric rise over the lat twenty years, projects announced in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are looking strong.
Hanoi’s proposed 528m tower to be built by the PetroVietnam Construction Joint Stock Corporation (PVC) at a cost of US$1.2 billion by 2014 follows on from the Bitexco Financial Tower that will open in October this year, standing at 262.5m.
It is however a substantial jump from the 250 – 310m range to over 500m.
Vietnam obviously feels the need to make a statement, announcing its presence on the regional and world stage. Deeper motives behind Cambodia’s announcement than making a bold statement are somewhat elusive.
As an economy that still relies on substantial donor funding to operate (accounting for half of the central government’s budget) and though its garment industry has taken off, with the promise of some future oil and gas returns too, the population lacks education and productive skills, particularly in the poverty-ridden countryside, which suffers from an almost total lack of basic infrastructure.
By its effort to stride out of its dark past, could Cambodia’s new tower yet become an icon of delusional grandeur? Well, the project is not impossible, but challenges await and there is no doubt the US$200 million price tag could be put to better uses across the country. Cambodia’s developing construction industry will require foreign assistance, that is a given, but even the proposed location of the tower will poses its own issues.
Diamond Island has only existed for 100 years and with the constant flux of the great Mekong River there is no guarantee that the island will remain in years to come without substantial and expensive engineering works. All of which will be dictated by the market’s demand for such a property.
On top of that Cambodia’s property market is still developing and though skyscrapers continue to arise from the city built on banks of the Mekong, there is no guarantee that the market will be able to accommodate, nor fill such a development. To date, Phnom Penh’s towers have hovered around the 25 storey, 170m mark.
Such a development can re-define cities and countries on the global stage. But the same applies whether these developments are succeed or fail.
The announcement comes at a time when the region seems to be engaged in a rather cold war-esque skyscraper battle, such as that which Stalin undertook against the US leaving great monoliths dotted across the Moscow cityscape.
Across South East Asia, led by Malaysia’s Petronas Towers, which were the world’s tallest building until 2004, each country has sought to redefine the region’s cityscape.
Thailand’s innovative 310m MahaNakhorn development, announced in 2009 and standing just 10m shy of the Eiffel Tower’s spire actually exceeds Singapore’s skyscraper collective that are limited to 280m by the proximity of the airport to the city centre.
As such Vietnam had, until Cambodia’s announcement, been at the van guard of this region’s ‘skyscraper race’. Parallels between Soviet Russia and Vietnam’s communist government aside, it seems that Vietnam is closer to grasping the nettle than any other party in the region. Call it a communist obstinacy or perhaps more realistically a further testament to Vietnam’s endurance and meteoric rise over the lat twenty years, projects announced in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are looking strong.
Hanoi’s proposed 528m tower to be built by the PetroVietnam Construction Joint Stock Corporation (PVC) at a cost of US$1.2 billion by 2014 follows on from the Bitexco Financial Tower that will open in October this year, standing at 262.5m.
It is however a substantial jump from the 250 – 310m range to over 500m.
Vietnam obviously feels the need to make a statement, announcing its presence on the regional and world stage. Deeper motives behind Cambodia’s announcement than making a bold statement are somewhat elusive.
As an economy that still relies on substantial donor funding to operate (accounting for half of the central government’s budget) and though its garment industry has taken off, with the promise of some future oil and gas returns too, the population lacks education and productive skills, particularly in the poverty-ridden countryside, which suffers from an almost total lack of basic infrastructure.
By its effort to stride out of its dark past, could Cambodia’s new tower yet become an icon of delusional grandeur? Well, the project is not impossible, but challenges await and there is no doubt the US$200 million price tag could be put to better uses across the country. Cambodia’s developing construction industry will require foreign assistance, that is a given, but even the proposed location of the tower will poses its own issues.
Diamond Island has only existed for 100 years and with the constant flux of the great Mekong River there is no guarantee that the island will remain in years to come without substantial and expensive engineering works. All of which will be dictated by the market’s demand for such a property.
On top of that Cambodia’s property market is still developing and though skyscrapers continue to arise from the city built on banks of the Mekong, there is no guarantee that the market will be able to accommodate, nor fill such a development. To date, Phnom Penh’s towers have hovered around the 25 storey, 170m mark.
Such a development can re-define cities and countries on the global stage. But the same applies whether these developments are succeed or fail.
19 comments:
I completely agree with the author. I think Cambodia is not in the time of building that such wold tallest skyscraper. It's much better if the Goverment ask the property owner to build factories, or such other thing, so that it can create the jobs for the poor people.
Planning to build the tallest skyscraper in poverished and cash-strapped country (Cambodia), yet still depending on other countries' aid not a great idea.
We don't know what the Cambodian prime minister has in mind.
Cambodia needs to be self-sufficient first before putting the tallest building in Cambodia. Also, the leaders must look after their people first.
Lots of hot air as usual from hun sen. As well as rubbish.
A dictator's whim.
Good analysis, but totlaly wrong due to the fact that Cambodia would not construct that building by the national budget, but investors'.
You know investors are not stupit as you think. They do deeply research on the market before making decision. Succeed or failed is up to investors.
when you are thinking of too much about poor people you won't go no where..poor and rich have to be emulated.. WHEN YOU BUILT IT ,THEY WILL COME...Cambodian please go on with that process and have a good luck on that project..
Khmer PRIDE
Its stupid to built a 555 meter- skyscraper in Cambodia, a poor country where more than 30% of the people live under the poverty line.
For what? For prestige? For PROMOTION of the cigarette 555 that Hun sen like to smoke.
It's better for this stupid bastard to solve the problem of poor sewage system in PPenh which make PP flooded during each rain.
Its just Hun Sen's dream . Cambodia has no money to do that right now and some taller buildings that built by investores , most of them havent been sold yet .
I am a bit bewildered with this 555 meter skyscraper in PP. They can hardly take care and run PP in the current shape let alone the tallest building in Asia in the middle of it. This tall structure will need a lot of supports and resources. The main concern is safety. Are firefighters trained for this kind of structure? Where are the supporting equipments? Are human support such as engineers and technicians available? Or are they all going to be imported as usual? I can guess, this building is going to be built with foreign investor funds, so it is going to be looked after by foreign staff and engineers.
It's stupid to build anything higher than 5 stories here. Fire departments don't have enough trunks or equipments to put out fire. Nor are the firefighters trained. These fighters are often corrupted. They will only put out the fire when they receive a GOOD amount of money UP FRONT. Otherwise the hell with it.,,,,let the shit burn down.
HUMPTY HUMP SAT ON THE WALL!
HE COULDN'T BALANCE HIS BALL!
WE SAW HE FALL FROM THE WALL!
How a stupid Hun Sen build a 555m skyscraper for only $200 mil.? That's right, this skyscraper got to build from BAMBOO. Bamboo's skyscraper, ladies and gentlemen...sweet, very sweet. Before this stupid Hun Sen announced the price tag, did he ever look at price tags in Vietnam and Taiwan's skyscrapers or even Malaysia?
Stupid Hun Sen! you should get out of your seat and give up your power because you have no idea HOW TO DO MATH. How can you lead this country with a blind eye?
157 and 220 great comments. It is up to the investors and should not let negative mentallity to hold back the building process. No fire truck can reach the highest building. It is true the Cambodian fighter are damn corrupted. Yes, you will have to pay them first, before they put down the fire. But the investor should be equips with every possibility to put the fire out. Such as building springers inside the building and availble helicopter carrying the water to spray from the top down. If they spend so much money to build this tallest struture, they must be prepare for the emergency. The more advance things to attract the tourists, the more local have jobs.
Don't worry guys,let them build that tallest building,because,they are having too much corrupted money lets us wait and see those corrupted money falling down with that tallest building...people! the eggs are not hatch yet and please don't count the chick yet..
Khmer PRIDE
200M for casino/cruise/mall
2,000,000,000 for skyscraper
1,000,000,000 new Dubai, UA
Punloeu said...
Good analysis, but totlaly wrong due to the fact that Cambodia would not construct that building by the national budget, but investors'.
You know investors are not stupit as you think. They do deeply research on the market before making decision. Succeed or failed is up to investors.
Hun Xen just make a stupid wish but no body is going to invest with him!
Good luck ah Kwack Stupid Head!
I think it's better to build many short buildings, like 10 story high, make it cheap rent for the poor.
i think cambodia can do this. i wouldn't be surprise to learn that even at the time when angkor wat, the world largest religious structure, was built, there were controversy and cynical outlook about its achievement, etc. so, everytime cambodia wants to build something extraordinary, the cynics, the pessimists, the skeptics, etc are always at the best whining, complaining, bitching, and being biased, etc. so, life will go on in cambodia despite all these whiners' rants! i'm sure cambodia will ignore them and go on with build our skyscrapers, our economy, insfrastructure, etc, etc... cambodia will court the cambodia lovers, of course and steer away from the haters, of course! more power to the cambodian enablers!god bless cambodia.
Make it higher!
Don't forget to put Sen's statue on top so we can worship him form below...
Never listen to people who tells you what you can and can't do.
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