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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, December 12, 2003

New tower begins to rise at ground zero in New York

The construction of the first new tower building began Thursday at the site of the destruction of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks after a ceremonial first beam was installed for the new 7 World Trade Center.


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The construction of the first new tower building began Thursday at the site of the destruction of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks after a ceremonial first beam was installed for the new 7 World Trade Center.

New York State Governor George Pataki and the developer, Larry Silverstein, signed the steel beam before it was raised to support the tenant floors of the building. The first 10 floors will house an electrical substation to power Lower Manhattan.

The beam was draped with an American flag, donated by a US reserve soldier who helped in the rescue and recovery effort after the Sept. 11 attacks. The flag will be permanently installed in the building once the steel work is finished.

The original 7 World Trade Center, an auxiliary building which housed offices, an electrical substation and the city's emergency command center, withstood the initial impact of the collapsing twin towers but toppled itself later in the day after fires, fed by fuel tanks for backup generators, raged out of control. It was built two decades after the twin towers and is across the street from the 16 acres now known as "ground zero."

The slim, 52-story tower with a glass facade will be taller than the one destroyed in the attacks, but its 1.6 million square feet will actually be less than the original. The building's base will be narrower to restore Greenwich Street through the property, allowing better views and letting in more natural light.

"Not only is it a brand new design, but it will incorporate safety standards and be one of the safest high-rise buildings constructed anywhere in the world, going beyond what New York Citycodes require. It will be a green building. It is designed in sucha way to be environmentally sustainable," Governor Pataki said.


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