Construction has begun on the Shimao Shenzenhen-Hong Kong International Centre, which is predicted to become the world’s second-largest skyscraper. Topping out at 667 metres, the building will surpass Shanghai Tower, and is part of Shenzhen’s urban development growth.
Opening in 2024, the mixed-use building will surpass the Dubai One Tower (currently under construction) and the impressive 631 metre-tall Shanghai Tower, taking out the impressive title of world’s second tallest tower. The current world record is held by Dubai’s 828-metre-tall Burj Khalifa.
The Shenzenhen-Hong Kong International Centre building will occupy a floor space area of over 315,870 square metres and include room for a convention and exhibition centre, startup incubators, residential buildings, office and performance centres, as well as five-star hotels, international schools and shopping malls.
The building is set to cover an area of 321,900 square metres, in the Longgang district at the eastern part of the city.
Chinese developer Shimao Group have kept hushed on many of the project’s details, but there’s news that the firm has invested approximately US7.5 billion in the project.
“The project’s stone laying ceremony will become a benchmark of the collaboration between Hong Kong and Guangdong, as well as a significant platform to allocate global innovation resources to Shenzhen and Hong Kong,” commented Zhang Yong, Secretary of Longgang District in an interview.
This comes after the city’s urbanisation boom, with Shenzhen completing more skyscrapers than any other city in the world in 2017, with good reason too as the city’s population now exceeds 12.5 million, making it one of the world’s fastest-growing megacities.
