Skyscraper complex project scales down in Phnom Penh

Special Report: Global Financial Crisis

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Blaming the global financial crisis, a major South Korean developer will dramatically reduce the scale of its proposed one billion U.S. dollars 7-skyscraper complex along the Tonle Bassac River to just three buildings at half the original price, national media said on Wednesday.

Ground was broken in June for the International Finance Complex(IFC) but construction on the site will be postponed more than one year, said Woo Mu-hion, chief of the business division in Cambodia for the project's developer and sole financer, the Seoul-based GS Construction and Engineering.

Construction was halted earlier this month, he was quoted by English-Khmer language newspaper the Cambodia Daily as saying.

"The market has changed. Due to such uncertainty, we think it is not clever to continue construction right now. We want to change our design, but we will maintain 52 storeys," he said.

The project will only include two 51-storey condominiums and a mixed-use 52-storey building, which will be the tallest in Cambodia, he said.

Construction on the complex could restart in early 2010, but first the company needs to redesign it and get government approval for the new plan, he added.

[Under Construction] International Finance Building (IFC Phnom Penh) - 52 floors, Phnom Penh

Ground Breaking Ceremony of IFC Phnom Penh on 18th June, 2008
Pic Source : Sinchew Daily










This project will consist of one 52 storey office tower, six apartment towers, a convention center and an international school
Completion Date : March 2012







More renderings of IFC

Cambodia breaks ground on its highest skyscraper

18 June 2008
Agence France Presse

Cambodia on Wednesday broke ground for what will be the country's highest skycraper, a 52-storey tower slated to become the "landmark" of the low-rise capital Phnom Penh.

The one-billion-dollar International Finance Complex (IFC) is being backed by South Korea's GS E&C company and is expected to be completed in 2012.

The project is being hailed by Cambodia's leaders as a symbol of the country's galloping economy, which has averaged 11 percent growth over the past three years.

"IFC is the highest building in the history of Cambodia's capital and is a symbol of the economic growth in Cambodia," said Deputy Prime Minister Sok An.

Kevin K.R. Kim, the Korean firm's CEO, said the project will contribute to the development of Cambodia and become "the landmark of Phnom Penh city."

The site, located near the Tonle Bassac River, includes plans for offices, 275 serviced apartments, a convention centre, an international school and six-high-rise apartment buildings accommodating 1,064 units.

The Southeast Asian nation in March broke ground on the country's first skyscraper, a 42-storey tower.

Cambodia has climbed back from decades of civil unrest to emerge as one of the region's most vibrant economies, marked by an unprecedented building boom that is radically changing the face of this once-sleepy capital.