The Tokyo Sky Tree broadcast tower, currently under construction, has been announced as the tallest building in the world once it’s completed (which will most probably be the case in the spring of 2012). But now Japan obviously fears to lose this (future) title to a tower currently under construction in Guangzhou Province in China, which seems to achieve a height of 610m.
The problem for Tokyo: This is the same height the city planned for Tokyo Sky Tree. And now Tobu Railway, the main company behind the building, plans to extend the height of the Sky Tree by 24m to 634 meters to really make it the tallest tower in the world.
From the beginning, the Sky Tree was designed to support a height of 640 meters, which means it won’t pose a problem for Tobu to just make the base that supports the antenna a bit taller.
The company says the new plan will neither delay the planned opening nor increase construction costs (which stand at $717 million).
Via Asahi Shimbun