Raffles City Chongqing to Open in Phases from Q2 in 2019
CapitaLand recently welcomed the visit by Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean to the development site of Raffles City Chongqing located on the historic Chaotianmen, known as the crown jewel of Chongqing in southwest China.
In a progress report to Mr Teo, CapitaLand updated that construction on Raffles City Chongqing is about 80 percent completed and the 1.12-million-square-metre megastructure is on track to open in phases from 2Q next year.
Recognised as a symbol of strong ties between China and Singapore, Raffles City Chongqing will be home to the Sino-Singapore Collaboration Centre, an initiative by CapitaLand and Chongqing’s Yuzhong District government aimed at bridging companies pursuing cross-border expansion to the immense growth opportunities in Chongqing.
Mr Lim Ming Yan, President & Group CEO of CapitaLand Group, said: “Raffles City Chongqing is a landmark urban renewal project that expresses and shapes Chongqing’s global city aspirations. As the investor and master developer of this historical 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. Bringing this megastructure to life requires not just astute project and capital management on CapitaLand’s part, but also the strong support from the government, our partners and the local residents. We are heartened that the residential component of Raffles City Chongqing has been well received by the market, selling 90 percent of the 500 apartments launched to date.”
Singapore’s largest single development in China at RMB24 billion (about S$4.9 billion), Raffles City Chongqing began construction more than five years ago. It comprises a retail podium and eight skyscrapers for residential, office, serviced residence and hotel use, of which the tallest two measure 350 metres in height.
A distinctive design feature of the development is The Conservatory, a 250-metre-high sky bridge housing a rich array of amenities – including a viewing gallery, sky gardens, an infinity pool and restaurants – that sits above four of the skyscrapers and is linked to two other skyscrapers by cantilever bridges.
Featuring a host of architectural and engineering breakthroughs, Raffles City Chongqing boasts the world’s highest sky bridge linking the most number of towers, China’s tallest residential tower and Chongqing’s tallest building. To date, six out of the eight skyscrapers have topped out.
Occupying 9.2 hectares of site area, Raffles City Chongqing brings together a 230,000-sq m shopping mall, 160,000-sq m of Grade A office space, 1,400 residential apartments, Ascott Raffles City Chongqing serviced residence and a luxury hotel – with a total construction floor area of 1.12 million sq m and gross floor area (excluding car park) of about 817,000 sq m.
The development is strategically located on Chaotianmen at the confluence of Yangtze and Jialing rivers in Yuzhong District, next to the traditional Jiefangbei central business district.
Raffles City Chongqing is CapitaLand’s eighth Raffles City development in China. The seven others in Beijing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Shanghai (with two Raffles City developments) and Shenzhen are operational.
Including Raffles City Singapore, the nine Raffles City developments in Singapore and China span about 4 million sq m and will be worth about S$15.0 billion (about RMB72.7 billion) when fully completed.
