BEIJING (BLOOMBERG) – China is prohibiting construction of the tallest skyscrapers to ensure safety following mounting concerns over the quality of some projects.

The outright ban covers buildings that are taller than 500m, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a notice on Tuesday (July 6).

The local authorities will also need to strictly limit the building of towers that are more than 250m tall.

The top economic planner cited quality problems and safety hazards in some developments stemming from loose oversight.

The 72-storey SEG Plaza in Shenzhen was closed in May for checks following reports of unexplained wobbling, feeding concern about the stability of one of the technology hub’s tallest buildings.

Construction of buildings exceeding 100m should strictly match the scale of the city where they will be located, along with its fire rescue capability, the commission said.

The authorities imposed an in-principle ban on new buildings taller than 500m last year.

There are only 10 towers in the world exceeding that height, and five of them are in mainland China, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The five buildings are Shanghai Tower (632m), Ping An International Finance Centre in Shenzhen (599m), CTF Finance Centre in Guangzhou (530m), Tianjin CTF Finance Centre (530m), and CITIC Tower in Beijing (528m).

The world’s tallest building is Burj Khalifa in Dubai, standing at 828m.

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