Shanghai to start building China's tallest building

Construction of the 120-floor Shanghai Tower will begin in Shanghai’s Lujiazui financial district in Pudong Saturday, a US$2.16 billion project in defiance of the global financial crisis, the South China Morning Post reported. The building, which is expected to be the China’s tallest at 632 meters when it is completed in 2014, is being built by Shanghai Tower Construction and Development, a consortium of three Shanghai state-owned companies. Company general manager Gu Jianping said falling raw material prices were helpful to the project, and that he was confident in an economic revival by the time the skyscraper is finished. The building has a twisting, asymmetrical shape designed to reduce the impact of wind.