Work on the world’s tallest building had started in January 2004. Six years later, having used a record-breaking 330,000 cubic metres of concrete, 39,000 metric tons of steel rebar, 142,000 square metres of glass and 22 million man hours, the tower will be officially opening its doors.

The opening date has been chosen to mark the Accession Day of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of
Dubai, said Emaar’s Chairman Mohamed  Alabbar.

The opening of Burj Dubai to mark Shaikh Mohammed’s accession anniversary is, in fact, a fitting tribute to the leader. Emaar has always maintained that Burj Dubai was inspired by
Shaikh Mohammed.

Alabbar, in an earlier interview, said that when the company initially conceived Burj Dubai, it was only a 90-storey structure.

“Why stop there,” Shaikh Mohammed had asked when he was presented with the blueprint, recalled Alabbar.

Emaar, therefore, decided to push the frontiers. The final height of the tower has still not been revealed.

The tower offers some mind-boggling statistics: It will have 57 elevators and eight escalators. The main service elevator rises 504 metres, serving 138 floors — the world’s highest lift which travels almost one-and-a-half times the height of the Empire State Building in New York.

One of the much-awaited attractions for the public at Burj Dubai is ‘At The Top,’ the public observatory located on Level 124. This will be served by a double-deck elevator cab, travelling at 10 metres per second – the world’s highest double-deck elevator and among the fastest.

Among the specially commissioned 1,000 pieces of art for Burj Dubai will be World Voices by the internationally renowned artist Jaume Plensa.

This is composed of 196 cymbals that represent 196 countries of the world – symbolic to Burj Dubai being a collaboration of people from across the globe and befitting its global iconic status.

While the world awaits the opening of a new icon, it has already contributed to history pushing the tested knowledge of architecture and engineering.

But most importantly, the tower has proved to the world that Dubai
dreams, dares and does.

patrick@khaleejtimes.ae