Sky City development taking shape in Vientiane
Construction of a joint venture 
real estate project in Vientiane - Sky City - is now over 35 percent complete and work is on schedule after building began in Chanthabouly district last October.
The project's Legal Representative and Development Manager, Mr Soulintha Phanthavong, said on Tuesday the foundations for the 13 buildings were completed three months ago and they are now working on the third floor of each of the blocks.
These 13 buildings are the first phase of the project, with each to have seven to 12 floors . The complex covers an area of about 4.5 hectares and offers commercial and residential property as well as a hotel, a shopping centre, a recreational park and business facilities.
“We expect the first phase to be complete next year, after which the second phase of construction will begin immediately,” Mr Soulintha said.
“Currently six of the buildings have been reserved by six companies from China and Laos.”
Five of the buildings have been reserved by Chinese companies and the other, which has eight storeys, has been reserved by a local company.
“The Sky City project will have 31 buildings in total and we hope to have everything complete by 2020,” Mr Soulintha said.
The Lao Long Full Investment Co., Ltd. is investing 2.56 trillion kip (US$320 million) in the project, in which it has a 49 percent stake while the Lao partner has a 51 percent shareholding.
The rapidly growing social and economic development in Laos is partly due to Vientiane's cooperation with the Chinese government in investment in mega-projects such as special economic zone development. This has generated significant revenue and employment in Vientiane.
The developers envisage that Sky City will be a leading urban complex in Laos, and a commercial centre in Vientiane. It integrates apartments, a luxury hotel, and an office and commercial centre.
Laos is now developing rapidly and the real estate sector is booming, with developments in Vientiane financed by investors from Laos, China and various Asean countries.
This sector is being transformed from small scale investment to larger projects of international standard and many developments are currently under construction.
These include Sky City, the Mega Mall in Sikhottabong district under Singaporean management, and the That Luang Marsh Specific Economic Zone (SEZ) where Chinese investors are transforming the landscape.
The That Luang Marsh SEZ covers an area of 365 hectares in Xaysettha and Sisattanak districts, with completion slated for October next year.
The ITECC Shopping Mall is also currently under construction and will be the largest mall in Laos. It is located in Xaysettha district on an area of 106,000 square metres and will soon be complete.
Another high-profile shopping centre opened a few months ago, targeting luxury brand shoppers. The four-storey shopping centre is a part of the Vientiane Centre project being built on 5.3 hectares of land at the Nongchan Marsh in Sisattanak district.
Another project is the Asean shopping centre in Vientiane being financed by San Jiang Market operators from China, who are spending millions of dollars to build the centre in preparation for integration with the Asean Economic Community at the end of this year. The project is set for completion and public opening next year.
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ByTimes Reporters
(Latest UpdateJune 24,2015)
