As Saigon's skyline reaches ever higher, the southern hub is not the only one growing up.
Municipal officials in Phnom Penh recently gave initial approval to a 500-meter-high pair of skyscrapers, reports Cambodia Daily. The ambitious US$1 billion proposal, submitted by Thai Boon Roong Group, would feature 133-story twin commercial towers built on five hectares of land.
The Cambodian capital's municipal land management department gave the project a green light, however Thai Boon Roong's proposal must still reach the Ministry of Land Management's highest officials to receive the final go-ahead.
“When it arrives at the ministry, it will be reviewed for all aspects, including safety and traffic impacts,” Seng Lout, spokesman for the Ministry of Land Management, told the Daily.
If approved, construction of the towers, which would house office space, condominiums and hotels, would be in cooperation with a Chinese company. There is not yet an official timeline for the project, however the Khmer Times reports a start date of early 2016.
Over the last decade, Phnom Penh has added a staggering 628 high-rise buildings to its skyline. This number seems less severe when you consider the definition of “high-rise” – between five and 40 stories tall – however Thai Boon Roong's twin tower project is not the tallest structure to receive approval by the city government. In 2010, the 555-meter-tall Diamond Tower project, to be built on Koh Pich Island, was given the go-ahead, however it has yet to begin construction despite an initial completion date of this year.
[Photo via Cambodia Daily]
