Gold Tower selling fast despite rumored pullout

Written by Meas Sokchea
Friday, 02 May 2008

Five months after going on the market, 75 percent of the units in Gold Tower 42 have been sold, the developers of Cambodia’s first skyscraper say, denying suggestions that the project’s backers have pulled out of one of the country’s most ambitious construction efforts.

Reports widely circulated in the Khmer-language press say the project has stalled after its South Korean developers abandoned construction, leaving hundreds of depositors in limbo.

“A rumor is only a rumor,” said Lee Sun Hum, director of the Yon Woo company, which is building the $240-million high-rise.

He compared the project to a slandered celebrity, saying, “Our company, being famous, must suffer from rumors created by others – it is not correct information.”

When completed in 2011, Gold Tower 42, which will include a library and medical facilities along with luxury apartments, will dwarf every other building in this low-slung capital.

Cambodia’s leaders are touting it as a symbol of the country’s revival after decades of civil strife.

But the 192-meter tower is only one of a number of large construction projects underway amid an unprecedented building boom that has increased competition among developers courting both foreign buyers and the capital’s emerging middle class.

Some 30 percent of Gold Tower’s buyers are from overseas, said Yon Woo sales manager San Sokseiha, adding that the building’s units were also popular with Cambodian businessmen and high-ranking government officials.

“Many floors have sold out even before construction started,” he told the Post, describing reports of the project’s turmoil as coming from competing developers.

“These rumors are not correct – there is no problem for the company. It has not abandoned the project.”
– PP Deputy Governor Pa Socheat Vong

Municipal officials also dismissed the rumors about Gold Tower 42, with Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Pa Socheat Vong saying, “This project is still going on, but it takes a long time to construct.”

“These rumors are not correct – there is no problem for the company. It has not abandoned the project,” he told the Post.

Many buyers appear undeterred by the whiff of scandal surrounding Gold Tower 42, saying they regarded the units as a good investment.

“With high buildings like this, Cambodia will attract investors,” said one woman who gave her name as Chakrya, adding that she recently bought one condominium for more than $500,000.

[Under Construction] Golden Tower 42 - 2x42F, Phnom Penh

Cambodia to get first skyscraper
Sales launch in Phnom Penh, 24/01

Source : BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7207030.stm
Cambodian officials have attended the official sales launch of the first-ever skyscraper in the capital, Phnom Penh.

The twin towers are to be 42 storeys high - almost three times higher than the current tallest building.

It is the first of three skyscrapers planned in the capital, where the skyline has been kept low - in part to avoid overshadowing royal palaces.

But the government has encouraged the new buildings as symbols of Cambodia's development after decades of conflict.

Although Gold Tower 42 is some way from completion, the launch of its show apartment and sales office attracted government ministers and overseas ambassadors.

The BBC's Guy De Launey, in Phnom Penh, said the launch gave a taste of the shape of things to come.

He said the solid, imposing, gold-faced structure would stand out from its neighbours on Norodom Boulevard - an area of yellow-washed, wooden-shuttered French colonial-era buildings.

But Phnom Penh is in the middle of a real-estate boom - and some residents hope that building up will bring the price of homes down.

"It's more affordable for people wanting to stay in town, and I think it's good. It's secure and they have all the facilities," one resident said.

But other locals worry about the effect tall buildings will have on the city's character

"The original Phnom Penh city [was developed to] be horizontal, not vertical," one resident said.

South Korean companies are building Gold Tower 42 and another even taller skyscraper near the Mekong River.

Due for completion in 2011

Construction site:









Floor Plans
1-3F : Shopping Centers
4-9F : Office
10F : Sport Facilities and Library, Restaurants
11-42F : Condominium





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