CapitaLand Marks Topping Out of Raffles City Chongqing with Structural Completion of One of the World’s Highest Sky Bridges
CapitaLand has successfully topped out the eighth and final skyscraper of Raffles City Chongqing as the Group enters the final lap of preparation works to open the highly anticipated 1.12-million-square-metre megastructure in the second half of 2019. This achievement follows the structural completion of the development’s 250-metre-high sky bridge – The Crystal, which enjoys the distinction as the world’s highest sky bridge linking six of Raffles City Chongqing’s eight skyscrapers.
Mr Lucas Loh, President (China & Investment Management), CapitaLand Group, said: “The successful topping out of Raffles City Chongqing represents a new milestone in CapitaLand’s track record of building well-designed integrated spaces. Upon Raffles City Chongqing’s structural completion, we are now focusing on the interior fit-out works, including transplanting trees to enliven The Crystal sky bridge, which will feature the tallest observation deck across Western China. Positioned as a must-visit destination for local residents as well as domestic and overseas travellers, Raffles City Chongqing has been garnering strong response from our customers.”
To date, Raffles City Chongqing has launched three residential towers with a total of 772 units, out of which 72 percent have been sold. The development’s five-storey shopping mall will house some 450 retailers offering a great variety of fashion, dining, lifestyle and entertainment options. We will continue to engage homebuyers, retailers and companies who are keen to be a part of this prestigious development.”
Anchor retail tenants committed to date include Chinese electric vehicle company NIO, which will open its largest NIO House in Chongqing at Raffles City. More than just a showroom, the 1,500-sq m NIO House also serves as an exclusive clubhouse for NIO car owners. Leading movie theatre chain CGV will operate its national flagship at Raffles City Chongqing. Spanning a massive 5,600 square metres, the multiplex will feature state-of-the-art screens with superior sound quality.
Popular bookstore chain Yanjiyou will open a regional flagship at the mall, packed with a lifestyle café and other creative and experiential offerings catering to bibliophiles. In addition, well-known purveyor of fine foods Ole’ will operate a gourmet supermarket with a food hall serving a wide range of fresh produce and international specialties.
Fulfilling its role as an advocate of Chongqing’s rich local culture with more than 3,000 years of history, the mall will feature a dedicated zone to promote authentic Made in Chongqing products such as local delicacies, handicrafts and souvenirs. This is in line with the wishes of local residents, who provided enthusiastic feedback about the development during the popular preview tours conducted by the Raffles City Chongqing project team.
Occupying 9.2 hectares of site area, Raffles City Chongqing brings together a 235,000-square-metres shopping mall, 150,000 square metres of Grade A office space, about 1,400 residential apartments, Ascott Raffles City Chongqing serviced residence and InterContinental Raffles City Chongqing hotel. It has a total construction floor area of 1.12 million sq m and gross floor area (excluding car park) of about 817,000 square metres. The development is strategically located on Chaotianmen at the confluence of Yangtze and Jialing rivers in Yuzhong District. It is also sited at the nexus of three Central Business Districts, namely Jiefangbei, Jiangbeizui and Danzishi.
Raffles City Chongqing comprises eight skyscrapers. Two of these are 350-metre-high supertall skyscrapers known as Chongqing’s tallest buildings; one of which also holds the honour of China’s tallest residential tower. The other six skyscrapers are about 250 metres tall each. Known as Raffles City Chongqing’s ninth “horizontal skyscraper”, The Crystal is an enclosed sky bridge nestled above four of the 250-metres-tall skyscrapers and links two adjacent skyscrapers by cantilevered bridges. Measuring 300 metres in length, 32.5 metres in width and 26.5 metres in height, it is the world’s highest sky bridge linking the most number of towers. Designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie, Raffles City Chongqing’s form is inspired by the historic images of great Chinese sailing vessels and pays tribute to Chongqing’s noble past as a trading centre.
Raffles City Chongqing has received an Honourable Distinction for the China Tall Building Innovation Award. It is also Chongqing city’s largest development to be accorded the LEED-CS pre-certification (Gold Level) by the United States Green Building Council, which recognises best-in-class building strategies and practices.
