China bans tallest skyscrapers following safety concerns

China has banned construction of tallest skyscrapers following the safety concerns over quality of some projects. China had constructed maximum number of tallest buildings in 2019 but now it has banned to ensure safety.

Highlights

• As per National Development and Reform Commission, this ban covers buildings taller than 500 metres.
• Local authorities will also require to strictly limit building of towers that are 250m tall.
• According to the commission, construction of buildings taller than 100m should strictly match the scale of city where they will be constructed along with its fire rescue capability.
• Commission has imposed an “in-principle” ban on new towers over 500m in 2020.

Background

Top economic planner highlighted the quality problems and safety hazards in some developments because of loose oversight. In May, a 72-storey tower in Shenzhen was closed following reports of unexplained wobbling. This report is feeding concern regarding stability of one of the tallest buildings of technology hub.

Tallest Building of China

China has largest number of tall buildings in the world. It has surpassed the combined number of second and third largest viz., United States (800+) and Japan (250+). China has more than 1400 skyscrapers, as of 2017, with height of 150 meters. Out of them, 48 are supertall with 300 meters height. Tallest tower in China is ‘Shanghai Tower’, located in namesake city. It has the height of 632 meters. Shanghai Tower is the second-tallest building worldwide. 32 of the 64 buildings that have been completed and architecturally topped out with minimum height of 350 meters across the world are in China.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2021