According to a press release by construction company Coteccons, on October 14, it officially broke ground on the foundation floors of the Spirit of Saigon high-rise complex in District 1. Spirit of Saigon has a strategic location in the city’s downtown just a stone’s throw from Ben Thanh Market and later, the starting station of the Metro Line 1. The lot’s four edges are Le Thi Hong Gam, Calmette, Pham Ngu Lao and Pho Duc Chinh streets.
Starting from this month, Coteccons will work on Spirit of Saigon’s 10 foundation floors, comprising basements for parking and space for commercial activities, for 10 months. The whole complex consists of two towers that are connected by the shopping floors and basements. The tower on the east has 48 stories, comprising apartment units and other services while the west tower has 55 stories for offices and a high-end hotel.
Spirit of Saigon was once named “The One” project, undertaken by Bitexco, with US$500 million in investment. Work on the building started back in 2012, slated for a 2015 completion date. Alas, the project’s construction progress is marred by numerous mishaps.
In January 2014, a crane on site toppled over while transporting a bundle of steel, damaging the wall of the Fine Arts Museum and destroying a statue. Municipal authorities ordered the contractor to cease work while they conducted a probe into the accident.
Just a month later, the project once again faced criticisms after a freak accident in February: a bus turned a corner sharply and squished a pedestrian into the temporary fencing, killing him. The total encroachment of nearby pavements by the project’s fencing forced pedestrians to walk in the street.
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