A top Chaoyang district official said Tuesday the government plans to have a 400-m or even taller skyscraper in the upcoming eastward expansion of its central business district (CBD).
The new landmark, which will become Beijing's tallest architecture if built, will become a new icon of Beijing's booming role as a global business harbor, said Cheng Lianyuan, governor of the Chaoyang district where the lucrative CBD is located.
Beijing's current tallest building is the 330-m, 74-story China World Trade Center III, located in Guomao. The newly built and currently empty tower, which will be put into use later this year, is the center of current CBD area.
But not anymore, said the official.
"I would not be surprised if we have a tower at 400 m or more in height," Cheng briefed reporters on the giant CBD expansion project on the sidelines of the district's annual legislative meeting Tuesday.
"Personally, I would not approve anything below that height," he said.
It is unknown who will build or own the planned skyscraper, as the district government still awaits the municipal government's approval of its detailed CBD expansion plan, but the municipal government is set to approve or reject the plan by mid next month before the lunar New Year celebrations, the official said Tuesday.
Demolition and relocation of current residents will then kick off, the official said.
The local government decided in October to double the size of the CBD over the next eight years in the hope of attracting more major multinational corporations and creating 100,000 new jobs.
But the project is set to affect six major residential communities with an estimated 10,000 households comprising mostly elderly residents.
The government said Tuesday the CBD expansion is the city's priority for new commercial opportunities. The district drew $1 billion in investment for the local government last year.
Beijing's CBD continued to be the most active sub-market for office space, accounting for nearly half of the city's net absorption last year, Jones Lang LaSalle, a firm for real estate services, reported Tuesday.
The government will roll out a 3-sq km expansion for the populated area, from the East Third Ring Road near Guomao to the Fourth Ring Road near Sihui Bridge.
Last October, the government also invited seven of the world's leading design firms to renovate the lucrative area.