Bouygues Construction subsidiary Bouygues Bâtiment International has won the 100-million-euro design-and-build contract for a 200-metre-tall tower building in Vietnam, the M&C Tower. The 42-storey building will be on the banks of the Saigon river in Ho Chi Minh City.

The complex founded on five basement levels will comprise a large six floor shopping centre beneath the two separate wings of the tower. One wing will have apartments and the other offices. The total floor area will be 150,000 sq. metres.

This project will be built using the "top and down" method which involves excavating downwards and building upwards simultaneously. Although this procedure involves technical complications, it saves time and avoids the need for major temporary excavation support. The construction methods for the project were developed to meet the particularly severe constraints of the site: densely built-up urban area and truck traffic restricted to night-time.

Work on the project is about to start and will run for three years (38 months), involving 800 people at peak times.

The contract confirms Bouygues Construction's very strong position on the skyscraper market. Since the start of 2008, the Group has won three large contracts for tower buildings, including structural renovation of the AXA/CB31 Tower (Paris - La Défense) for more than 300 million euros.

Bouygues Construction has enjoyed dynamic business in Southeast Asia for many years. The group is present through local subsidiaries (Dragages Hong Kong, Dragages Singapore, Dragages Macau and Bouygues Thai), Bouygues Travaux Publics, Bouygues Bâtiment International and VSL. It generated sales of nearly 550 million euros in the region in 2007.

It is currently completing Chongming Tunnel beneath the Yangtze river in Shanghai, China and is building Machang Bridge and Busan Port in South Korea, the Sail@Marina Bay towers in Singapore, several residential complexes in Bangkok, Thailand, and a vast recreational complex in Macau.

The group was recently designated "preferred bidder" for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the world’s largest PPP sports complex, in Singapore: Premier Park. This 600 million euro project will comprise a 55,000 seat stadium, a 41,000 sq.-metre shopping centre, a major aquatic centre and a water leisure park.