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19 March 2024

Another world's tallest? Now 2-km high tower is coming up...

Published
By Parag Deulgaonkar

Building a 200-storey tall tower is one thing. Building it in just four months, suggests an engineering and technical marvel unheard of. And this comes from China.

However, that is just the beginnning.

The chief executive of Broad Sustainable Building, a Chinese construction firm, plans to build at a two-kilometre high, 636-floor tower.

He revealed his plan in an interview to "The Made-in-China CEO", a Reuters magazine published in June.

Zhang Yue , CEO, Broad Sustainable Building, has been quoted, saying: "One hundred per cent! Some say that it's sensationalism to construct such a tall building. That's not so. Land shortages are already a grave problem. There's also the very serious transportation issue. We must bring cities together and stretch for the sky in order to save cities and save the Earth."

There was no mention on when and where will the 2-km high tower will be launched.

However, the 838-metre high tower, 10 metres taller than the Burj Khalifa, currently the world's tallest tower, has been dubbed "Sky City 220" and is set to be completed in four month's time from ground breaking using the rapid-construction techniques that Zhang's company has invented. Sky City will have schools, a hospital, 17 helipads and house 30,000 people.

Last December, the firm completed a 30-storey hotel in Hunan province in mere 15 days.  Yue says his next plans a 50-story building, and perhaps a couple more with 30 floors, while he arranges funding for Sky City 220.

He also hopes, according to the magazine, to set up franchises so such buildings can go up anywhere; he has seven in China so far, and is aiming for 150 around the world.

In June, Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) Chairman Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, said the 1,000-metre high tall Kingdom Tower in Jeddah will be completed by mid-2017.

Later, an Azerbaijan company said it plans to build the tallest tower in the world, standing at 1,050 metres, surrounded by number of artificial islands and a Formula One racetrack. The project is likely to be completed between 2020 and 2025.

Burj Khalifa has 900 studio, one, two, three and four bedroom, while the Armani Residences has 144 fully furnished private apartments. It offers luxurious recreational and leisure facilities including four swimming pools, an exclusive residents' lounge; health and wellness facilities; At.mosphere, the world's highest fine dining restaurant at level 122 and At the Top,  the world's highest observatory deck, with an outdoor terrace on level 124.

Dubai is also home to three tallest residential towers in the world  - the 414-metre Princess Tower, the 395-metre 23 Marina and the 381-metre Elite Residence.