Shipbuilder joins twin tower project

A major Chinese shipbuilder will join an international group to construct a $2.7 billion, 133-story twin tower skyscraper in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.

Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group Co, a Hubei-based subsidiary of China Shipbuilding Industry Corp, will form a consortium with Beijing-based Sino Great Wall International Engineering Co to be the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project, according to the Hubei provincial government on Monday.

The building, which will be on the bank of the Mekong River in Phnom Penh and rise to a height of 560 meters, will be the tallest twin towers in the world, it said.

Cambodia's Thai Boon Roong Group will be the project's main developer, and Macao-based Sun Kian Ip Group will be co-developer.

The project is Wuchang Shipbuilding's first in a country along the Belt and Road Initiative routes. It will accelerate the pace of infrastructure and engineering projects in the overseas market.

With more than 11,000 employees, Wuchang Shipbuilding is proficient in providing high-rise steel structures.

Luo Renjian, a researcher at the Institute of Transportation Research of the National Development and Reform Commission, said the company's product range and financing ability are advantages in competing with foreign rivals.

The twin towers will accommodate hotel, shopping mall and apartment facilities, as well as offices, an exhibition hall, theater, restaurants and a basement parking garage.

"Building this project shows that Cambodia is eager to attract global companies and tourists through better-developed infrastructure facilities," said Zhang Xiaojing, director of the Institute of Economic Research for China and ASEAN at the University of International Business and Economics.