First a Warner Bros theme park in Abu Dhabi, and now a skycraper in Dubai that will be the tallest in the world?!
Just a little over a week ago, it was announced that Dubai is planning to build a tower that will dwarf the current world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.
The mysterious unnamed skyscraper’s final height will only be announced upon completion, but chairman of Dubai-based Emaar Properties Mohamed Alabbar said that he expects the tower to eclipse the pinnacle of the Burj Khalifa, which stands at 838 metres (2,700 ft). It will cost about $1bn (£700m) to build in the Arab emirate, a relatively modest amount compared to the $1.5bn (£1.05bn) used to construct the Burj Khalifa.
Chairman of Dubai Emaar property Mohamed al-abbar at the press conference in Dubai on 10 March 2016. (MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP/Getty Images)
The new tower, based at the centre of a new development called Dubai Creek Harbour, is set to boast rotating balconies and elevated landscaping inspired by the mythical hanging gardens of Babylon. The design will evoke an image of a minaret whilst anchored to the ground with huge cables and sculpted gardens beneath. It will be “a notch taller” than the Burj, with plans featuring observation decks with 18 to 20 mixed-use floors, including restaurants and a boutique hotel. Alabbar said the new structure would be an “elegant monument” adding value to other property in the area.
A scale model of the planned tower that will be taller than the Burj Khalifa. (MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP/Getty Images)
The tower will be designed by Spanish-Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava Valls, and it will be presented by Ammar Properties as a “gift to the city before 2020”, the same year Dubai is set to host the Expo trade fair for real estate and development.
The sky may not longer be the limit, as countries and developers vie with each other to build the world’s tallest building. Dubai will have to speed up construction for this new tower, as it could face competition from neighbouring Saudi Arabia. In November 2015, Saudi Arabia’s billionaire prince Alwaleed bin Talal and his holding company Kingdom Holding Co secured $2bn (£1.33bn) to complete Jeddah Tower, which will reach more than 1km in height (almost 3,300 feet). Even so, even the Jeddah Tower would be dwarfed by the Sky Mile Tower set to be built in Tokyo Bay, doubling the height of the Burj Khalifa. The mini-city, which has a completion date of 2045, would reach a height of 5,577ft and house around 55,000 people.
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