Society

Wuhan selecting blueprint for world's 3rd tallest building

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-12-21 16:47

WUHAN, Hubei - A central China city is selecting a blueprint for the skyscraper expected to be the world's third tallest building.

The 606-meter-high Greenland Center will be built in downtown Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, the project's developer, Shanghai-based Greenland Group, said Tuesday.

Greenland is considering draft building designs from six companies including Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP, and Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill Architecture.

The 5-billion-yuan ($750 million) building will have total floor space of 300,000 square meters when construction finishes in five years.

It will house luxury hotels, office space, high-end stores and apartments.

The skyscraper is part of a planned commercial compound that will cover 3 million square meters and cost about 30 billion yuan to build.

Workers began digging the skyscraper's foundation on Dec 8 and further construction will depend on the design blueprint approved by municipal authorities, said Lu Zhenxin, a Greenland spokesperson in Hubei.

The world's tallest building is the 828-meter high Dubai Tower in the United Arab Emirates.

The 632-meter high Shanghai Tower will be the world's second tallest building when construction on it finishes in 2014.