Due to be completed by 1973, the building will reach 312 ft. above ground and will cost about S$35 million. The scheme is one of the first major city centre redevelopment projects to be under-
in
mm
Clifford Centre
taken by private enterprise
in support of the Govern- ment's urban renewal pro- gramme. The developers are Singapore Land and Invest- ment Group.
A 21-storey tower will be erected above an eight- storey podium. The lower and upper ground floors and first floor of the podium will be for shops: the second to fifth floors to accommodate 352 cars; the sixth floor for exhibitions and conferences; and the seventh for mechanical installations.
Nineteen floors, from eighth to 26th will be for offices, while the 27th floor will be a restaurant with roof garden and viewing platform above.
The land area of 36,000 sq.ft., consists of four sites which are being acquired by the developers.
Rod shortage in Bangkok
Many construction companies in Thailand are faced with bancruptcy because of the high pride of steel bar, according to the Thai Contractors' Association.
The high tax imposed by the Government was the main reason for the increase, say the Asso- ciation. Formerly the import duty for steel round bar was 200 baht per ton, but this was increased to 600 baht per ton. This raised the price of bar from 2.50 baht to 4.50 baht per kilogramme.
At present the demand for steel round bar was about 250,000 tons a year, but the four local manufacturers could produce only about 100,000 to 150,000 tons a year.
The increase in steel prices has caused delays in all construction work, says the Association, which has urgently requested the Government to reduce import duties.
Formica in Singapore
Formica International Ltd. has opened a new warehouse in Singapore, stocked with 5000,000 sq.ft. of decorative laminates.
over
The move is said to reduce delivery times to 14 days or less throughout the Far East, a market which the company says is growing at an annual rate of 15 per cent.
KOTOBUKI'S
F. R. P (Fiberglass.
Reinforced Plastics)
IS THE ULTIMATE IN THE MODERN AUDITORIUM SEATING
AAAA
Kotobuki Seating Company
Head Office: 14, 1-chome, Yurakucho,
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan TEL: (591) 1311-1315 "CHAIRKOTOBUKI" Tokyo
8
Far East BUILDER, February 1970