World's Tallest Building Mired in Red Tape

China's lust for skyscrapers continues unabated, attracting criticism that the skylines of many cities are being determined by the egos of the local officials that run them (or in some cases, the people who refuse to move off proposed building sites.  Increasingly, many of the flagship construction projects led by local governments are grinding to a halt.

As reported earlier, selling off land for developers to build on is a common ploy by cash strapped provinces.  Building the world's biggest, or the world's tallest building on the site is technically a boon for the local officials looking to climb the CCP ladder, and excellent PR for the Party in general.  Nothing says modernization like a whopping great building in the center of town built in record time.

Thing's aren't going so well for Changsha's latest effort though.  Sky city was intended to be not only the world's tallest building, but the world's tallest building built in the fastest time, but Chinese red tape is dogging the project, and it's in real danger of not actually getting off the ground at all.

Proving that if you want something done in China, you need to do it illegally, or work in the gray areas at least, doing everything "above board" has meant that as of July this year, the company responsible for the project had obtained permits to build on a mere 122 acres of land.  Fines for starting construction without the proper permits could be fairly hefty - an estimated $750 million of the total $1.46 billion.

Of course, if the World Skyscraper Index is to be believed, Sky City could be a lynchpin indicator of the economic times to come.

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