New Proposal Seeks Fairer Fees for Construction in Sofia Amid Skyscraper Controversy
The civic group Spasi Sofia is calling for a doubling of the building permit fee in the Bulgarian capital
Source: Twitter
After more than two years of delay due to bureaucratic procedures, the new tallest skyscraper in China - Shanghai Tower in Shanghai's financial district is now welcoming its tenants, Bloomberg writes.
More than 60 companies have already occupied their offices on the 128 floors, including some big names in Chinese finance, such as Ant Financial, controlled by billionaire founder of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Jack Ma.
Among other tenants there are law firms, and by the end of next year at the top of the building there will be a luxury hotel.
The building may be the tallest and most expensive building ever built in China, as well as the fastest elevator in the world, but there will be no opening party, investors say. The reason - too much attention by the public so far.
The 632-meter skyscraper had to be opened in mid-2015. However, the scale of the project, as well as its complexity, caused delays in clearing the fire safety rules.
The complexity of the tower shows how Chinese construction legislation is struggling to maintain the pace of technological development. Different industries accept and even invent some of the most advanced systems in the world, but Chinese regulators are often still intoxicated by practices and rules created decades ago.
Changing attitudes to urban development and several major disasters in China have made the authorities cautious in implementing high-density projects for hundreds of incidents in recent years.
A full capacity of the building takes 2 hours and 18 minutes for evacuation. When working lifts, the time is reduced to 1 hour and 48 minutes.
Each of the glass panels of the façade has been tested using lasers.
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday blocked a bipartisan measure that would have restricted President Donald Trump’s ability to conduct military operations against Iran without congressional approval, signaling broad Republican support for his ongoing campaign
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has firmly denied claims by the United States that Spain has agreed to assist in the American military operation against Iran
Yesterday, a ballistic missile fired from Iran over Iraqi and Syrian airspace was intercepted by NATO air defense systems before entering Turkish territory
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has delivered a firm rebuttal to US President Donald Trump’s threat to cut trade with Spain, emphasizing his government’s refusal to participate in military action against Iran and reiterating a clear stance of “No to
A U.S. Navy attack submarine has reportedly sunk an Iranian warship, the IRIS Dena, in the Indian Ocean, marking a rare submarine strike on a surface vessel since World War II
Turkish officials have clarified that the missile fired from Iran, which was intercepted by NATO air defense systems in the eastern Mediterranean, was not aimed at Turkey
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