This artist's conception shows a triangle of tall buildings in the city's Lujiazui financial center: the Jin Mao Tower (center), the World Financial Center (right) and the future Shanghai Tower, which starts construction tomorrow.- Shanghai Daily

Dong Hui/Shanghai Daily news

Where some see crisis, others see opportunity.

Three months after opening the world's second-tallest skyscraper, Shanghai is about to start construction of an even taller building - in the face of an economic slowdown and falling property prices.

Construction on the 632-meter Shanghai Tower, expected to cost 14.8 billion yuan (US$2.17 billion), will begin in Pudong's Lujiazui financial district tomorrow, developers said yesterday.

Gu Jianping, general manager of Shanghai Tower Construction and Development Co, said that by starting work in an economic downturn, construction materials would be cheaper. He also predicted that by the time the 121-floor, glass-and-steel tower is opened, China's economy is likely to be soaring again.

"Launching construction at this time will help boost Shanghai's confidence in fighting the financial crisis," he told a news conference.

The tower, which will comprise offices, retail space, a super-five-star hotel and cultural facilities, will be part of a triangle of tall buildings. The recently opened World Financial Center, at 492 meters, is now the world's second-tallest building. Its neighbor, the Jin Mao Tower, rises 420.5 meters above the Shanghai skyline.

The new skyscraper will surpass the height of the 501-meter-high Taipei 101 in Taiwan, but the world's-tallest title will go to the Burj Dubai, now under construction in the United Arab Emirates. The Burj is expected to be roughly 800 meters tall, though its exact height has been kept secret.

The Shanghai Tower is scheduled to open partially in 2012 when the top floor is finished and go into full operation two years later.

The tower's pinnacle will feature the world's highest non-enclosed observation deck. And the building's high-tech office space is expected to help boost Shanghai's financial industry.

"The floors for trading will be designed especially for companies in the financial services industry," Gu said. "The building is expected to serve banking, insurance, securities and fund companies as well as the headquarters of multinationals."

Unlike the Jin Mao Tower and the World Financial Center, the Shanghai Tower's three shareholders are all state-owned enterprises. Shanghai Chengtou Corp holds 51 percent of the company, Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone Development Co Ltd 45 percent and Shanghai Construction Group 4 percent.

The developers declined to release future rental rates.

"What can be certain is that rents will be higher than current ones, as the economy should recover by the time the tower is finished," Gu said.