Ssangyong wins contract for luxury apartments

By Kim Tae-gyu

Ssangyong Engineering & Construction, a leading contractor in Korea, has inked a $145 million deal to build a large-sized residence dubbed Damansara City 2 in downtown Kuala Lumpur.

The Seoul-based company said Friday that the facilities will be composed of two 30-story luxury service high rises with a total of 268 apartments and is slated to be completed in March 2014.

Damansara City, an affiliate of Malaysia’s top-tier real estate development company GuocoLand, commissioned the apartments that offer such amenities as a swimming pool, a poolside barbecue garden and a banquet hall.

“Similar to five-star hotels with living rooms and bedrooms of the apartments equipped with huge glass walls through which residents can enjoy the amazing view of Kuala Lumpur,” a Ssangyong official said.

“We have won orders for high-end residence buildings worth 300 billion won this year in Malaysia alone. We think that we will be able to gain greater recognition in the luxury construction segment in the country.” Earlier this year Ssangyong sealed a deal to build luxury apartments in the central areas of Kuala Lumpur worth $127 million, involving world famous French architect Jean Nouvel.

In 2008 Nouvel won the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the equivalent of a Nobel prize for architecture. He is ranked among the world’s top architects.

His impressive works include Agbar Tower in Barcelona, the expansion of the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid and the Louvre Abu Dhabi. He also designed part of the Samsung Museum of Art Leeum in Seoul.

Ssangyong also earned the spotlight after it finished the Marina Sands Bay Hotel. The 55-story, 2,511-room luxury hotel opened last year in Singapore.

The hotel stands at a 52-degree angle compared to the 5.5-degree angle of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Designed by architect Moshe Safdie, the hotel is composed of three buildings. On the rooftop there is a sky park equipped with three swimming pools, an observation deck, a spa, restaurants and gardens.

Immediately a notable landmark in Singapore, the completion boosted the image of Ssangyong as a construction company with a sharp competitive edge.

“Through the Marina Sands Bay Hotel and other big contracts, we have demonstrated our technological prowess. We will continue to make efforts to secure contracts to build more outstanding facilities,” the official said.