opening Burj Dubai, world's tallest skyscraper

Burj Dubai, now also called the burj Khalifa, opened officially to the world yesterday.

The launch of the world's tallest sky-scraper is being seen as a symbol of Dubai's hopes to get over its economic troubles and restore its charm as a business hub.

Standing 2,717 feet (more than a half-mile) tall, the burj dubai has been under construction for six years. The $4.1 billion building is just another ornament in a city that boasts of marvelous architecture.

New York, Malaysia, Taiwan, Chicago, and now Dubai--all these cities have seen builders from all over the world, competing with each other, aiming to reach higher than others; as if prosperity depends upon who reaches higher in the competition.

Among the many architectural wonders, dubai boasts of the world's largest man-made islands, indoor shopping mall and indoor ski resort. But going by the past, it will not always be like that for Dubai; builders are likely to find a new place in future to build-up their sky-scrapers.

Overbuilt Dubai
But for now, dubai definitely has a lot to be proud of, so much so that it sometimes gives you an impression of being overbuilt.

“You have to ask, 'Why we are building all this?'” said Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of developer Emaar Properties, before the opening of burj dubai on Monday morning. “To bring quality of life and a smile to people and I think we should continue to do that.”

“Crises come and go,” he said. “We build for years to come ... We must have hope and optimism and we must move on. I hope that this is the beginning of the gradual move forward.”

Burj may help revive fortunes
Analysts are expecting Emaar's revenues to get a good boost as homes and offices in the skyscraper are delivered to people. The revenue could go up by almost $1 billion in the first quarter, they predict.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Emaar’s shares were highly sought and were once the “most valuable real estate stocks in the world”. When the tower was enjoying a zenith few years ago, the shares touched an all-time high of 28.7 United Arab Emirates dirhams ($7.80) in Sept. 2005. Since then, they have shed as much as 86 percent value.

On Monday, despite the opening of the tower, the stock stood at 4.02 dirhams, down 3.4 percent at close.

Inside burj Dubai
The burj dubai has 37 office floors, 1,044 apartments and 160 hotel rooms that are designed by Giorgio Armani. Emaar expects 12,000 people to reside or work in the majestic tower and connected office buildings, it said.

Almost 90 percent of the properties inside the tower had been sold before the construction was completed. Fortunately, the sales happened before the global financial crunch forced banks to cut back on mortgage lending.

However, prices of the properties in the tower, which had once touched 10,000 dirhams ($2,700) a square foot, took a hit and plunged down to less than half of the highest.

المصدر: منتدى المهندس كوم كلية الهندسة