World`s second tallest building takes shape in China

Beijing: China on Saturday completed the skeletal structure of the tallest building in the country even as it withheld permission for the planned construction of the loftiest skyscraper in the world.

A topping-out ceremony was held today for the Shanghai Tower which will also be the world`s second tallest building and is under construction in China`s commercial hub of Shanghai. Construction workers placed the last beam on the main structure of the Tower in Shanghai`s Pudong District achieving the landmark of the country`s tallest and world`s second tallest building after Dubai`s Burj Khalifa. The 125-storey building, now 580 meters high, is scheduled to reach a final height of 632 meters upon completion in 2015 and will cost an estimated 14.8 billion yuan (USD 2.4 billion). "The tower will become a landmark building in Shanghai after it opens," said Fang Qingqiang, chief engineer of the construction project. The building includes offices, commercial space, a five-star hotel, exhibition and conference halls and recreational facilities, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Fang as saying. The tower will help meet demand for high-end offices as the city seeks to build it as an international financial centre and free trade zone, Gu Jianping, president of Shanghai Tower Construction and Development Company said. The building is taking shape even as China halted permission for plans to build the 838-meter-tall Sky City in Changsha city to overtake the Burj Khalifa. The permission was halted as Chinese government has clamped a five-year ban on the construction of all official buildings as the slowdown of the economy continues. The GDP has touched 7.5 percent in the second quarter with projections of the growth to drop to 7 percent. A ground-breaking ceremony was held on July 20 for the planned tower. But it immediaely sparked doubts on the project`s safety, environmental concerns and construction speed. The debate about the tallest building apart, China is on course to become the country with the largest number of skyscrapers in the world. In 1990, there were five buildings taller than 200 meters across the country; but by the end of last year, that number exceeded 250. And by 2016, China will have about 800 skyscrapers - four times the current number in the US, a state-run CCTV report said. PTI