23 July 2007

the tallest... Burj Dubai

Burj Dubai (برج دبي "Dubai Tower") is now officially the tallest high-rise building in the world.

From The Sydney Morning Herald

Dubai builds world's tallest skyscraper

July 22, 2007
This recent handout picture shows the Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower).

This recent handout picture shows the Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower).
Photo: AFP

BURJ Dubai, a tower rising in the booming Gulf emirate, yesterday became the tallest building in the world at 512.1 metres, developers said.

Burj Dubai, or Dubai Tower with 141 storeys so far, surpasses Taiwan's Taipei 101 which is 508 metres tall, Emaar Properties said in a statement.

The skyscraper, being built by South Korea's Samsung and scheduled for completion at the end of next year, is one of a string of grandiose projects taking shape in Dubai.

The statement did not reveal the final projected height or the number of storeys of the tower, which Emaar has kept secret since its start in January 2004.

But Emaar officials have said the skyscraper, which will have cost $US1 billion ($1.14 billion) by the time it is completed, will be more than 700 metres tall and have more than 160 storeys.

Burj Dubai is the centrepiece of a $US20 billion venture featuring the construction of a new district, Downtown Burj Dubai, that will house 30,000 apartments and the world's largest shopping mall.

Emaar is facing stiff competition in Dubai from developer Nakheel, which will build Al-Burj or The Tower, whose projected height remains a secret.

Developers aren't revealing what the finished height of these supertall buildings will be, as they want to be the tallest.

Phallic? Yes, and the worse case of penis-envy in the world!

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I bought the new Harry Potter book today. I waited until today as I couldn't be bothered on Saturday to go to the shops and spend the entire weekend reading it.

Maybe I won't read it just yet...

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