Panama to build tallest tower in Latin America
Panama plans to build a 97-storey, 350-meter high tower which would outdo Mexico City's Torre Mayor, currently the tallest in Latin America, the tower's developers said on Friday.

The planned tower, called the Bay Palace (Palacia de la Bahia), in Panama City, would have a heliport, a rotating restaurant, a hotel, offices and shops, said Adolfo Olloki, spokesperson for the Spanish-owned Olloki Group, the developers of the tower.

It would take 10 years to build the tower, he said.

The Panama City mayor's office had approved the project, designed by Olloki architect Jesus Diaz, and the construction would begin within two months, he added.

The tower was estimated to cost 130 million U.S. dollars, and would be built on the site where the Maria Auxiliadora college once stood.

The developers said that they were pleased with pre-construction sales for the tower at the Madrid and Barcelona trade fairs, and that up to 50 percent of the tower had been sold already.

According to Panama City's Construction and Public Works Department, the construction sector contributed us$814 million dollars to the national economy last year.