Khmerization

The 240-million-dollar high-rise, which will include a library and medical facilities along with luxury apartments, is backed by South Korea's Yon Woo company and is expected to be completed by 2011. -- PHOTO: AFP

PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIAN officials on Friday broke ground on the country's first skyscraper, a 42-storey tower that when completed will dwarf all other buildings in the low-rise capital Phnom Penh.
The 192-metre-tall Gold Tower 42 project is being touted by Cambodia's leaders as a symbol of the country's galloping economy, which has averaged 11 per cent growth over the past three years.
'The tower is the highest building in the history of Cambodia's capital,' said Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, adding: 'It's a symbol of economic growth.'
The 240-million-dollar high-rise, which will include a library and medical facilities along with luxury apartments, is backed by South Korea's Yon Woo company and is expected to be completed by 2011.
Company officials say at least half the available units have already sold.
'When completed, the building will bring all of us good life and success,' Yon Woo chairman Kim Tae Yeon told a crowd of about 600 high-ranking Cambodian and South Korean officials.
Cambodia has climbed back from decades of civil unrest to emerge as one of the region's most vibrant economies, marked by an unprecedented building boom that is radically changing the face of this once-sleepy capital.
At least two other high-rise buildings are planned, along with another South Korean-backed project, the sprawling Camko City planned community located on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. -- AFP