Opening in phases from next year, Raffles City Chongqing is Singapore’s single largest development in China – a RMB24 billion (about S$4.9 billion) vertical urban district comprising a retail podium and eight skyscrapers for residences, offices and a hotel.

By Singapore’s CapitaLand and Ascendas-Singbridge, the project covers 9.2ha and brings together a 230,000sqm shopping mall, 160,000sqm of grade-A office space, 1400 apartments, Ascott Raffles City Chongqing serviced residences and a luxury hotel. This is a total floor area of 1.12 million square metres on a 9.2ha site.

On the Chaotianmen riverfront, at the confluence of Jialing and Yangtze Rivers, the complex is next to the traditional Jie Fang Bei CBD and is fully integrated with a transport hub comprising a metro station, bus interchange, ferry terminal and cruise centre. The designer is architect Moshe Safdie.

“Raffles City Chongqing is by far the largest and most complex integrated development CapitaLand has undertaken,” says president/group CEO Lim Ming Yan.

Crowning the project is The Conservatory, a curved “horizontal skyscraper” that spans four 250m-tall towers – rated the world’s highest sky bridge. This engineering feat, which is 300m long, 30m wide and 22.5m high, features an observation deck including a patio with see-through glass flooring. It also has sky gardens, an infinity pool and an F&B zone.

Also in the complex is China’s tallest residential tower, a 350m skyscraper.

Raffles City Chongqing is CapitaLand’s eighth Raffles City development in China.