Higher than a bird, almost as high as some planes. It's Super Tower. And it's coming to Bangkok. Real estate developer Grand Canal Land unveiled plans for a 125-storey office and hotel tower that would make Bangkok home to the tallest skyscraper in Southeast Asia. The 320 thousand square-meter "Super Tower" - the name is not final and a naming competition will be held later - is being designed by Architects 49. The mixed-use project will offer 90 thousand square meters of office space and house a "six-star" hotel with 260 rooms. Other amenities include an observation tower for tourists and garden on the rooftop of a lower floor. According to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, which maintains a database of the tallest skyscrapers, the Bangkok "Super Tower" will be the world's ninth tallest if it is built on schedule. It would be the third tallest if built today. The developer intends the tower as the center of a new business, shopping and residential district in Bangkok costing US$ 3.1 billion. If completed, the tower would dwarf the tallest building currently in Thailand, the "Baiyoke II tower", which tops out at 304 meters (328.4 m to tip) on its 85th floors. The second-tallest structure, to be completed in 2016, is Mahanakhon condominium at 314 meters. If built today, the tower would be the third-tallest in the world and the highest in the Southeast Asia region, planners said. Southeast Asia's current tallest building is the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur at 452 meters.

On one of the last patches of land along the Nile River in central Cairo, Egypt is constructing Africa’s tallest building. In a difficult feat of engineering, the project will twist from a thin triangular base to form a rectangular tower, rising 70 stories and providing a panoramic view of the Nile River and the pyramids. The 300-meter project is meant as a monument with a message: after years of instability, Egypt is ready for investment. Designed by the late architect Zaha Hadid in 2007, the “Nile Tower” will be part of a plan to transform the area between downtown Cairo and the Nile River into an upscale district. The bill for the project is set at $600 million, though it’s likely to cost nearly $150 million more, according to Diaa Tantawy, the Design Manager at Living in Interiors, the company developing the building. As Egypt pushes through economic reforms, the Egyptian pound has weakened, making imported building materials significantly more expensive. And yet despite the cost, developers are breaking ground, because the construction sector is crucial to driving growth in the domestic economy and is key to the government’s plan for successful reforms. Currently, there are 1,400 active construction projects in Egypt, valued at $248.2 billion. The project was first championed a decade ago under former President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak, but was put on hold in the aftermath of the revolution that ousted him from office in 2011. Now the building has gained support from current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is working with the developer to get proper clearance for design aspects like the building’s height. In terms of making the scheme financially viable, the development is seeking investors from across Europe. The Nile Tower is meant to transmit a message of growth outside the country. Says Tantawy, “It will change how the whole world sees Egypt. We are now strong, the leader of Africa and the Middle East, you can invest with us.” According to the project’s current plan, the top 36 floors will be apartments, the middle 18 floors will be a hotel with approximately 230 rooms, and the remaining floors below will be reserved for amenities like a casino, night club, spa, health club and shopping area. The building is designed with a glass façade in front, and shades in the back, shielding tenants from the development. Over the next few years, the Maspero sector is slated to become the “new modern Cairo.” However, the Nile Tower also shows that this new Cairo has roots in the past. As projects planned before the revolution rise into the sky, development plans are picking up where it left off.

A Chinese firm state-owned giant China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) has signed a deal with Moroccan partners The General Construction Company of Casablanca (TGCC) to build the tallest skyscraper in Africa in the capital of Morocco Rabat, Xinhuanet reported on Sunday. CRCC will take responsibility for 60% of the project, which is budgeted at US$380 million, while their Moroccan partners, The General Construction Company of Casablanca (TGCC), handle the other 40%. The 55-storey tower will reach 250 meters high, with the adoption of ecological and sustainable design concepts. It will include offices, hotels and luxury apartments, according to the report. The tower will be the highlight of a large-scale project to develop the Bouregreg valley in Rabat, a key component of the 2014-2018 Integrated Development Program dubbed "Rabat, City of Light, and Moroccan Cultural Capital." The new project also involves the construction of several innovative facilities, including the Grand Theatre of Rabat, the Arts and Culture House, the National Archives of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Archaeological Museum. Currently, the tallest building in Africa is the Carlton Centre in Johannesburg at 223 meters in height. The tallest building in Morocco is the Casablanca Twin Center at a mere 115 meters.