Dubai, the emirate of extravagance and superlatives, laid claim to a new record on October 5 with a multibillion-dollar plan to build the world’s tallest tower in the face of a deepening global financial crisis.
The tower, at the centre of the Nakheel port and harbour complex, is to be “more than one kilometre” high and have more than 200 floors, beating its nearest rival the Burj Dubai tower, which is still under construction and due to rise to 818 metres.
The latest first for this tiny Gulf state, the glitziest of the seven members of the United Arab Emirates, will incorporate traditional Islamic styles for its extensive gardens, waterfront and bridges.
“It sends another message to the world that Dubai has a vision like no other place on Earth,” said Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, chairperson of Dubai World, the parent company of developer Nakheel.
“At more than a kilometre high this is an unbelievably groundbreaking design,” boasted Chris O’Donnell, Nakheel’s Australian chief executive. “We are pushing the boundaries of sustainable design.”
The complex will provide homes and offices for 100 000 people. If all the reinforcing bars were laid end to end they would stretch from Dubai to New York.
The tower will be so tall that it will have five different micro-climates.
The temperature at the top could be as much as 10 degrees cooler than at the bottom.
Pressed on the issue of height, O’Donnell said: “We are building a tower that’s going to be over one kilometre. This is a completely iconic development.”
Developers in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are bound to take note. Dubai, once a sleepy fishing and pearling port, is already home to some of the biggest and busiest shopping malls on the planet, as well as indoor ski slopes in a desert country where the temperature is regularly over 40°C.
Nakheel is famous for its signature Palm Jumeira island and is building two other offshore Palm developments, which will extend Dubai’s 70km coastline to 100km.
Last month Jumeira saw the opening of the massive $1,5-billion Atlantis Hotel, where guests can pay $25 000 a night for a room and gaze at sharks in a vast aquarium in the lobby. It will be inaugurated by Kylie Minogue next month, despite fears of a terrorist attack.
The launch of the port and harbour complex was accompanied by a loud public relations fanfare. But it left key questions unanswered, not least the cost of the project at a time of tightening credit, falling oil prices and a sense that the Gulf is not immune to the effects of the world’s financial crisis.
“We all know the world is experiencing incredible market movement,” said O’Donnell.
“This will have an impact on the Middle East, but our view is that it will be relatively small. This will be built over 10 years. I can guarantee we will have many more cycles over this period.”
Nakheel was keen to stress that the design includes Islamic elements inspired by the Alhambra in Spain, the harbour of Alexandria in Egypt, the promenade of Tangier in Morocco and the bridges of Isfahan in Iran.
The inclusion of Islamic elements seems to be a gesture to Arabs and Muslims who are uncomfortable with the influx of expatriates into the city, where over 80% of the 1,3 million residents are foreigners.
The message that Dubai has a vision is not new, even if the circumstances are changing for the worse. —