Landmark 81 skyscraper in Saigon

Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam keeps growing, including in height. The skyscrapers in Asia now are shooting up like mushrooms. Large cities compete with each other, trying to build taller buildings. After all, it raises the status of the city and attracts tourists, and therefore more money to the city budget.

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Landmark 81 skyscraper in Saigon is the tallest building in Southeast Asia

Recently (in 2018) a new skyscraper was inaugurated in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). It was recognized as the tallest building in Southeast Asia. The shopping center named Landmark 81 reaches is 461 meters high. Thus, this skyscraper exceeded the height of the famous Petronas towers in Kuala Lumpur. They’re 452 meters high.

The skyscraper was built in just 4 years on the west bank of the Saigon river in Binh Thanh district, located north to the historic center of Ho Chi Minh City and South to the Saigon bridge. The tower is located in the center of Vinhomes Central Park.

History of the construction of the Landmark 81 skyscraper in Saigon

The construction of this new attraction in Ho Chi Minh City began in late 2014. The groundbreaking ceremony of the tower took place on December 13, 2014. The British design, engineering and consulting company Atkins provided the design of the building. Vingroup, one of the largest companies in Vietnam is the investor and the main developer of the project. The official opening of the shopping center took place on July 27, 2019.

Landmark 81 and what’s inside

The 81-story building houses offices, retail, apartments, hotel, restaurants, food court and observation deck.

The stores occupy 50 thousand square meters. There are more than a hundred foreign and local brands, including Lacoste, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Versace Jeans, Pandora, Adidas, Nike, etc.

The food court area is 7 thousand square meters. Three dozen restaurants located in the skyscraper offer Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese cuisine.

The building has an entertainment area, that includes country’s largest cinema, game center and even an ice rink.

Fire after the opening of Landmark 81 skyscraper

A few days after the opening, a fire broke out on the 64th floor of the skyscraper. According to the administration, the fire was due to welding sparks that cot in contact with the construction materials. But it all ended well, as the fire was extinguished before the firefighters arrived. There were no casualties in the fire; the fire did not cause serious damage to property.

Landmark 81 skyscraper attracts tourists

The tallest building in the city already attracts many visitors. To attract more visitors, it is planned to hold weekly special events offering valuable prizes, discounts in shops and free tickets to the ice rink and to the cinema.

The new skyscraper was included in the list of top 14 tallest buildings of our planet. Recall that the building of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai is on the first place, the Shanghai tower on the second, and the Abraj Al-Bait in Saudi Arabia on the third.

Some panoramic restaurants are located on the 66th and 67th floors of the building. The 79th floor offers a viewing platform overlooking the city. Before the Landmark 81 skyscraper was built, the most popular observation deck in the city was the Sky Deck, located in the Bitexco financial tower. Now tourists have a choice. But we can assume that most would like to visit the deck of a taller and newer building.