Empire City is a major property development in District 2, Ho Chi Minh City. The project is located on one of the prime riverfront subdivisions of the Thu Thiem new urban area.
The Empire City development covers 14.56 hectares and it will include over 3000 apartments, hotels, retail, food and beverage, and Grade A office space.
The project features the Empire 88 Tower by Büro Ole Scheeren. At 333 metres it’s the tallest proposed tower in Thu Thiem, and it will be a defining landmark of the city skyline.
Empire City is being built in sections by different developers, and the first stage is under construction.
Empire City Location
[Map of Empire City in District 2, Ho Chi Minh City.]
Empire City is the Zone 2B development lot of the Thu Thiem new urban area. The land is on the riverfront of the Saigon River in District 2, opposite District 4. It’s next to the Thu Thiem Tunnel and Mai Chi Tho Street.
The project is located between land reserved for Eco Smart City by Lotte (Zone 2A), and the future sports and entertainment complex (Zone 2C). Empire City is separated from the Eco Smart City by a park that is above the tunnel.
The riverfront will be a public park and not blocked by the development.
Empire City Projects
There are 11 sub-divisions that have the project reference “MU”. Not all of the information is available yet so I will update this when it becomes available.
Empire City By Ole Scheeren © Buro-OS MU1 MU2 MU3
The signature tower of Empire City is the Empire 88 Tower. This will be connected to two other towers on a podium that resembles rice terraces. The towers include:
– Empire 88 Tower (MU1): 333 metres, 88 floors above ground.
– Office Tower (MU2): 165 metres, 36 floors above ground.
– Residential Tower (MU3): 124 metres, 34 floors above ground.
This section is designed by the acclaimed German architect, Ole Scheeren. This “starchitect” designed the MahaNakhon Tower in Bangkok, which has since been featured in major news sites around the world for its unusual design.
The Empire 88 Tower has the potential to become an iconic symbol of the city, and something that people travel to especially to visit. Consider how many people put on their “bucket list” to swim at the infinity pool at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. If these skypods go viral like the Golden Bridge in Danang it would be a great boost for tourism in Ho Chi Minh City.
Linden Residences MU4
Phase 1: Linden Residences.
MU5 MU6
Tilia Residences MU7
Phase 2: Tilia Residences.
Narra Residences MU8
MU9 MU10
Cove Residences MU11
Developers
Empire City is a joint venture project by the following developers:
Keppel Land Ltd (Singapore)
Website: keppelland.com and keppelland.com.vn
Tien Phuoc Real Estate JSC
Website: tienphuoc.com
Gaw Capital Partners (Hong Kong)
Website: gawcapital.com
Tran Thai Lands Co., Ltd
Website: tranthai.com
Public Transport
The Thu Thiem peninsula and East Ho Chi Minh City (districts east of the Saigon River) is not as developed as the old city centre. Roads are still being built, and new bridges and railways are planned. If you are going to buy or rent in Empire City, don’t expect all the required infrastructure to be ready when you move in.
Empire City will eventually be served by Line 2 of the future Ho Chi Minh City Metro. Nothing offical has been released yet, but the plan is to extend Line 2 from Benh Thanh Central Station to the new Thu Thiem Railway Station. The general route alignment is shown on this small Line 2 map from the metro authority website. The map shows the line deviating towards the future Thu Thiem Square. It would make more sense to follow the route of Mai Chi Tho St, so we wait to see where exactly the metro station will be located.
For airport connectivity there is going to be a rail service connecting Thu Thiem to the new Long Thanh International Airport. It’s just not known yet what kind of railway service it will be. There was also meant to be a metro connecting Tan Son Nhat Airport. I made an updated HCMC Metro map which shows all of the officially proposed lines. Note that only one line is currently under construction, and at the current rate this map is going to take years to fulfil.
There is a new railway terminal station planned in Thu Thiem, and a large parcel of land for this has been reserved on Mai Chi Tho. This will be the terminal for the future North-South high-speed railway.
Given the current rate of development, this could be years or even decades away. It’s not known if the old station will be kept in service, which would also be accessible by the Line 2 Metro.
Bridges
The Empire City site is located next to the area reserved for the Thu Thiem 4 Bridge, which will connect District 2 to District 4. There are no official images yet, but this old render of Empire City gives you a general idea of what it might look like
In the future, there will be the Thu Thiem Pedestrian Bridge in front of the Lotte site, so it will be easy to walk to District 1 from Empire City.
The Thu Thiem 2 Bridge is also under construction, adding another way of getting to Empire City from District 1.
Official Websites
buro-os.com and @buroolescheeren on Instagram.
News Archive
2021
Landscape Architects 49 design the Empire City, the new iconic and sustainable urban center in Ho Chi Minh City – [21/09/21]
[Empire City 26/05/21.]
[Soil testing at Empire City 02/05/21.]
2020
[Empire City 14/11/20.]
[Empire City 14/11/20.]
[Empire City under construction 03/05/20.]
[Empire City road works 03/05/20.]
[Cove Residences Towers 03/05/20.]
[Empire City main tower site 03/05/20.]
2019
[Empire City under construction 08/12/19.]
[Empire City under construction 14/09/19.]
[Linden Residences (MU4) and Tilia Residences (MU7) – Under construction 14/09/19.]
[Cove Residences under construction 14/09/19.]
[Site of Empire 88 Tower 14/09/19.]
[Empire City under construction 31/08/19.]
2018
Hoa Binh contractor won bid for $1.2 billion Empire City project – [09/07/18]
2017
No limits: Büro Ole Scheeren launches designs for Empire City in Vietnam – [15/11/17]
Ole Scheeren unveils plans for a spectacular ‘sky forest’ in Vietnam – [15/11/17]
The architect behind some of Asia’s most recognizable buildings has unveiled plans for a new skyscraper that he hopes will change the face of Vietnam’s largest city. Featuring an observation deck and an urban garden hundreds of feet above the ground, Ole Scheeren’s latest project will be built in central Ho Chi Minh City.
Announcing Empire City, Büro Ole Scheeren’s landscaped high-rise ensemble for Vietnams next generation – [15/11/17]
Official announcement of the Empire City project from Büro Ole Scheeren.
Video of the Empire City sales gallery grand opening. The sales gallery built at site of Empire City in Thu Thiem new urban township was officially launched on 20/5/2017.
Promotional Video: Empire City_The better side of District 1: District 1.2. THis was released before the final design was known.
2016
Keppel Land inks $131.6m SGD deal for 40% stake in Empire City – [03/03/16]
[Old version of Empire City before the towers designed by Ole Scheeren.]
2015
Firm approved to build Vietnam’s new tallest building in Saigon – [01/07/2015]
Ho Chi Minh City approves the construction Empire City, which will include the country’s tallest tower at 86 stories. The complex includes a shopping mall, a five-star hotel, offices and apartments. Construction is due to start in the fourth quarter of 2015 and finish in 2022.
[2015 version of Empire City.]
2011
City’s Thu Thiem Peninsula to house 86-storey watchtower – [17/12/11]
Ho Chi Minh City calls for investors to develop projects in the Thu Thiem New Urban Area, including an 86-storey watchtower to be built by a joint venture between Tien Phuoc of Vietnam and Capital Land.
[Thu Thiem and the Empire City zone as it appeared in 2011.]
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