Tallest Skyscraper In The World
Recently, Abu Dhabi came to the rescue of Dubai with over 10 billion dollars to cover part of the debts it had accumulated. Inaugurating the building, Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai, said: “This great project deserves to bear the name of a great man. Today I inaugurate the Burj Khalifa.” The new tower, with its 160 floors, is home to 1,044 luxury apartments, 49 floors of office space and an Armani hotel of 160 rooms, a mosque (on the 158th fl), and the highest swimming pool (76th fl) in the planet. The project was started in 2004, by 12 thousand workers. Built in record time, it represents the dream of Dubai in wanting to be a cosmopolitan metropolis and a world financial centre of luxury and wealth. Its opening in the midst of a global economic crisis is bringing losses to all investors, given that the value of their properties in Dubai has fallen by up to 50%. Mohammed Alabbar, head of Emaar, the company responsible for the Burj, says that the building brings “hope and optimism.” “I hope that this is the beginning of a gradual move forward [beyond the crisis].” But many think that, with the ongoing crisis and the global problems of climate change, the Burj is just a monument to excess and waste.
