'Super Tower' to be tallest in Asean

Despite Thailand falling under another military-controlled government after the coup on May 22, G Land said its board of directors had approved going ahead with 

the skyscraper, which will stand 615 metres tall and have a total of 125 floors. It will be part of the Bt100-billion Grand Rama 9 project, situated on a 73-rai (11.7-hectare) plot in Bangkok’s new Rama IX-Ratchadaphisek business district. 

“This skyscraper is going to be the new landmark of Thailand, a world-class attraction that everyone must visit at least once in his or her lifetime,” said Yotin Boondicharern, chairman of G Land.

Banphot Hongthong, G Land’s independent director and former permanent secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, said this project had been under way on and off for the past two years. The company finally decided to go ahead with it once it was convinced by the economic policy unveiled by the current government and given the geographic advantage of Thailand as a hub of Asean.

Yotin said G Land’s major shareholders included his Charoenkrit Enterprise, which holds a 37-per-cent stake, the Channel 7 group that has 33 per cent, Bangkok Bank, which has 5 per cent, and Italian-Thai Development Group with a smaller stake. Four Thai banks will be the major lenders for the project, whose total construction cost will be Bt18 billion. 

He said “Super Tower” was only a temporary name for the project. It will succeed the 88-storey Petronas Twin Towers, which top out at 452 metres, and a planned skyscraper in Indonesia as the tallest building in Southeast Asia.

The company has hired a US firm, Skidmore, Owing & Merrill, as its design consultant, but all other design and construction work will be by Thai companies, Yotin said.

Covering a total construction area of 320,000 square metres, the Super Tower will be the main building of the Grand Rama 9 complex that also includes office buildings, a shopping complex, luxury hotels, a convention hall and condominiums. The already-opened CentralPlaza Grand Rama 9 and Unilever’s new Asean headquarters, which are under construction, are also part of the scheme.

According to G Land’s report submitted to the Stock Exchange of Thailand yesterday, debt financing will account for about 60 per cent of the Super Tower’s investment costs. It will partially open the tower and earn some rental and service incomes from 2016, before full completion six years from now.