Posts

Raffles City Chongqing Topping Out

CapitaLand Marks Topping Out of Raffles City Chongqing with Structural Completion of One of the World’s Highest Sky Bridges

Reading Time: 3 minutes

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.

Raffles City Chongqing Topping OutMr 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.Raffles City Chongqing Topping Out

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.

Raffles City Chongqing to Open in Phases from Q2 in 2019

Reading Time: 2 minutes

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.