| www.timesofearth.com DUBAI - Dubai has opened the world's tallest building as the emirate tries to re-establish some of the optimism it experienced prior to its financial crisis. As he inaugurated the 828-metre high tower on Monday, Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, renamed it Burj Khalifa in honour of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan, the president of the United Arab Emirates. Burj Khalifa, which took about 12000 labourers to build, overtook its nearest rival - the Taipei 101 in Taiwan which rises to only 508 metres. Dubai, one of seven members of the United Arab Emirates, has gained a reputation for excesses with the creation of man-made islands shaped like palms and an indoor ski slope in the desert. But the emirate suffered a real estate crash at the end of 2008 when the global financial crisis hit. Investor confidence was badly dented again in November when the emirate's largest conglomerate announced it planned to delay debt repayments. The Burj Khalifa's opening is seen as a positive start to the year and analysts believe Dubai's financial troubles have not hurt sales of the approximately 1100 residential units in the "super-scraper". The Burj has been developed by Emaar Properties and is believed to have cost $1.5bn. "The message is very simple ... we build for tens of years to come," Mohamed Alabbar, the chairman of Dubai's Emaar properties, said. "Crises come and go and the world has gone through two years of difficult times," he said ... |
