From high atop the sparkling Bitexco Financial Tower it’s plain to see the impact of the economic power that defined Vietnam in the 1990s, when business boomed in Ho Chi Mihn City. Caught up in the slumping world economy and plagued by inflation and a slumping Vietnamese dong against the dollar, growth is slowing. However, the number of skycrapers and tall cranes twirling in the tropical sky, reaching for the billowing clouds that dump occasional monsoon rains, demonstrates that investment in the future continues its inexorable path.
The Bitexco Financial Tower is emblematic of the go-go times in Ho Chi Mihn City, a bustling metropolis of over 7.3 million people anchoring the financial nerve center of southern Vietnam, which has long competed with the capital city of Hanoi for economic development. Built in 2010, the 68 story structure standing 262 meters (861 feet) tall is an artistic and architectural wonder. Representing the flowering of the revered lotus blossom, the design also incorporates a striking helipad jutting from the 50th floor, perhaps also representing the opulence and affluence of those heady times. It was the tallest building in Vietnam until 2011 when the 70 story Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower was built in Hanoi.
Overlooking the broad boulevards of downtown it is easy to identify landmarks from the Saigon Skydeck, located on the 49th floor, open to the public for a small fee. The viewing deck offers 360 degree views, with pay binoculars available for a bird’s eye view. On the south end, looking up, the helipad is visible as a cantilevered roof, providing the illusion that it’s threatening to topple the building over on its side. The Saigon River can be seen undulating along the east side of the city, bringing chocolate colored waters from the Mekong River to the South China Sea. The roof of the centrally located open-air Ben Thanh Market, where goods from freshly butchered meat to tourist souvenirs can be found, encompassing an entire city block and more, can be seen to the northwest. Beyond the market, large patches of cooling green trees mark the locations of several public parks, including the Cultural Park and Labour Park, with the Ho Chi Minh City Zoo to the northeast, offering respite from the mid-day sun. In between these landmarks a jumble of crumbling hotels, apartment buildings, solidly built banks and other commercial buildings are juxtaposed among gleaming new construction and scaffolding.
Informative displays chronicle milestones in the building process, of interest to anyone interested in the creative process of designing a unique building, and the challenges of working with several global firms to execute the complex construction. Another display shows a lifesize photograph of U.S. President Barack Obama at an event at the tower.
A visit to the Saigon Skydeck, though probably not on the itinerary of the average tourist, is a worthwhile experience to get superb views of this growing city and appreciate a fine example of the economic progress, entrepreneurship and architectural design of the modern Vietnam.
Information:
Saigon Skydeck
Bixtexco Financial Tower
36 Ho Tung Mau St
Ben Nghe Ward, District 1
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
(84-8) 39156 156
www.bitexcofinancialtower.com
Price: VND 200,000 (US $10)
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