A new skyscraper in Ho Chi Minh City aims to be the country’s tallest when it is completed in 2017.

Vincom Landmark 81, designed by UK architecture firm Atkins, is expected to reach a height of 460 meters and will add to the ever-growing skyline of Ho Chi Minh City, which has seen a boom in the construction of high-rise buildings in recent years.

The 81-storey building is located in Vinhomes Center Park, facing the Saigon River. At its base will be a shopping center, while the mixed-use development also includes space for a hotel and for apartments.

The architectural design is “modern and unusual,” says Atkins, “symbolizing the diversity and fast-emergence” of the city. A contemporary landscape design will bring nature into the 241,000 square meter development.

As construction gets under way on Landmark 81, another major new skyscraper is already preparing to eclipse it!

The 86-storey Empire City Tower, an observatory tower at the center a larger complex to include shopping, a five-star hotel, offices and apartments, is expected to be finished in Ho Chi Minh City by 2022.

Both buildings are the latest in a race to build Vietnam’s tallest building. Currently, the distinction goes to Hanoi’s Landmark 72, finished in 2011, followed by the Lotte Center Hanoi (2014), while in Ho Chi Minh City the Bitexco Financial Tower (2010) takes the top spot with 68 storeys, followed by the Vietcombank Tower (2014) and Saigon One Tower (2011).