Mega sky bridge to open this year

An artist’s impression of Raffles City Chongqing.

By SHAREN KAUR - March 8, 2018 @ 12:37pm

THE Conservatory in Chongqing, China, is the world’s highest “horizontal skyscraper”.

Built 400m above sea level, the sky bridge is set to open this year.

It is part of the Raffles City Chongqing development by Singapore’s largest real-estate developer, CapitaLand Ltd, and Ascendas-Singbridge.

Targeted for completion by the middle of this

year, the sky bridge will have a viewing deck, sky

gardens, swimming pools and food and beverage outlets.

It will link six vertical towers — four 250m towers

at its base and two adjacent towers by cantilever bridges.

CapitaLand president and group chief executive officer (CEO) Lim Ming Yan said Raffles City Chongqing is the largest and most complex integrated development that the group has undertaken.

The Conservatory is the world’s highest sky bridge linking the most number of towers.

“Erecting the Conservatory marks the culmination of five years of construction progress and a grand milestone in outlining Raffles City Chongqing’s image of a powerful sail surging forward.

“The hoisting of the Conservatory is not only a significant moment for Raffles City Chongqing, but also marks a global milestone in architecture and engineering. Some of the world’s most advanced construction and engineering techniques have been deployed to install this mega structure.”

BILLION-DOLLAR DEVELOPMENT

The S$5 billion (RM14.8 billion) Raffles City Chongqing will open in phases next year.

Occupying a 9.2ha site, it will comprise eight towers located on the Chaotianmen riverfront, with total floor area of 1.12 million square metres.

The Conservatory is the heart of Raffles City Chongqing and centre of civic activities, housing a rich array of amenities.

It will have a 230,000-sq-m shopping mall, 160,000-sq-m Grade A office space, 1,400 residential apartments, Ascott Raffles City Chongqing serviced residence and a luxury hotel.

Raffles City Chongqing was designed by architect Moshe Safdie, who also designed Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands.

Lim said more than just a building, Raffles City Chongqing is a landmark urban renewal project that expresses and shapes Chongqing’s global city aspirations.

He said as the master planner, CapitaLand fully appreciates the historical and cultural significance of Chaotianmen to the people of Chongqing.

“We have thus gone to great lengths to imbue the project with the highest standards of livability, connectivity and sustainability by carefully studying the needs of the community and the unique attributes of the site. Our goal is to create a vibrant riverfront urban district that serves as a dynamic city gateway befitting of Chongqing’s growing economic influence.”

A site photo of Raffles City Chongqing showing the first middle segment of The Conservatory in place.

OBSERVATION DECK WITH A VIEW

CapitaLand China CEO Lucas Loh said the observation deck will feature an outdoor patio with see-through glass flooring — the tallest of its kind in west China.

It will offer the best vantage point of Yangtze River and Jialing River merging at Chaotianmen.

“Raffles City Chongqing broke ground in September 2012 and five towers have successfully topped out since. One of these is a 350m skyscraper, which currently holds two records — China’s

tallest residential tower and Chongqing’s tallest building.

“The development’s luxury residential component, Raffles City Residences, is being marketed, with an encouraging take-up for two residential towers that have been launched.

“Jialing One tower, which has 215 units, is 70 per cent sold. Yangtze Two tower, with 285 units, is more than 40 per cent sold.”

Part of the Raffles City Chongqing’s office component will begin the handover at the end of this year, he said.