Trump Tower Panama Likened to Eiffel Tower
In 2005, Colombian-born developer Roger Khafif of the K group construction firm approached Donald Trump with plans for a mega-sail-shaped building along the Bay of Panama in the city’s now congested Punta Pacifica district.
Trump met with him and sent his daughter, Ivanka Trump, down the following week. Trump Sr. does not like to fly or leave the country, according to Khafif, although he did come to Panama in 2003 for the Miss Universe Pageant.
The contract was signed and the project launched in 2006.
“Nothing like this has ever been attempted in Latin America,” Khafif is quoted as saying in a March 20, 2010 Time/CNN report. “When you think of Sydney you think of the Opera House, when think of Paris you think of the Eiffel Tower, and when you think of Panama, you are going to think of this building.”
Khafif goes on to say that Trump’s name will help the country’s image makeover, and Khafif bet $400 million on it. “Before it was Panama and Noriega,” he explains. “But now it will be Panama and Trump.”
The 70-floor building will include luxury condos, a five-star hotel, six restaurants, a casino and a private yacht club on Isla Saboga. Construction has now reached the 62nd floor with a new floor added on average each week.
By means of comparison, the Eiffel Tower cost around $54 million in 2009 U.S-dollars, and the Trump Tower Panama costs are estimated at $400 million in 2006 to 2010 U.S. dollars.
Panama – Deemed to be the Switzerland and the Dubai of the Americas, simultaneously. In another few years maybe it’ll be the Venice as well, and Trump’s tower will look more like a sailboat than anyone ever imagined.