WATCH: Dubai new Tower much taller than Burj Khalifa

Dubai - Emaar FINALLY reveals height of The Tower to be build at Dubai Creek Harbour.

Dubai will be home to the tallest tower in the world - dwarfing the current tallest tower in the world, Burj Khalifa, by 100 meters (328 feet).

Mohammed Alabbar, Chairman of Emaar Properties PJSC, made this revelation in a recent interview with CNN. The $1 billion Tower will be built at Dubai Creek Harbour by the developer, that already holds the record for building the tallest building in the world, Dubai's iconic Burj Khalifa.

According to CNN, Alabbar has said that work will start on the project to build the tower next month.

Earlier this year, at the project launch event, Alabbar had announced that the new observation tower would be "a notch" taller than the Burj Khalifa, without revealing the exact height. It is due to open by the time Dubai hosts the World Expo in 2020.

The Tower serves as the vibrant core of Dubai Creek Harbour, a 6 sq. km world-class master planned development that is two times the size of Downtown Dubai and located 10 minutes form the Dubai International airport. The waterfront development is centred off the Dubai Creek, the cradle of Dubai's history and culture, and in close proximity to the Ras Al Khor National Wildlife Sanctuary, protected under the Enesco Ramsar Convention and home to over 67 species of water birds.

The new tower is designed by Spanish-Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava Valls will not be a traditional skyscraper but more of a cable-supported spire containing observation decks, hanging garden and possibly other tourist facilities.

With over 6.79 million sq m of residential space, 11.16 million sq m of retail precincts, 851,000 sq m of commercial property and 22 hotels with 4,400 rooms, Dubai Creek Harbour serves as a strong economic catalyst for Dubai.

Talking about the huge mall in the new district, the chairman said that the mall would be substantially larger than Dubai Mall.

"Our [Dubai Mall] corridors, even though when we designed it are 30 per cent bigger than traditional shopping mall corridors, we still got it wrong. I think we need to do more. We need to get it a little bit bigger," he said.

"But I think size is not the issue. I think architecture, technology and changing the shopping experience. With the digital world, e-commerce . you really don't go shopping anymore. You're going for the environment, to entertain, to eat, to communicate and to shop."

Alabbar said the tower will house a boutique hotel, vertical gardens, a 360-degree observation platform, restaurants and function hall spaces.

The new tower would be 928m tall, beating Burj Khalifa, which is 828m tall.

It is noteworthy that the 1km high Kingdom Tower in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) is all set to claim the title of the world's tallest building by 2019, which is the expected date set by the developers. The Tower in Deira is set to open in 2020, and will still fall short of the mammoth 1000m height of the Kingdom Tower.

Also read:

Tallest towers taking shape in the world and Middle East

Commenting on the new Tower, a proud Alabbar said that it's 'all about evolution and adding value to the real estate - I am driven by my pride for my country.'

"The UAE has given me so much in my life - maybe I have done one (tallest tower - Burj Khalifa), I can do one more."

• Dubai