Dubai tower 'opens this year'
The Middle Eastern developer building the world's tallest skyscraper vowed yesterday to complete the tower by year's end, though the exact date remains uncertain...
Completing the spindly structure, visible for miles around, would give Emaar Properties and its hometown, Dubai, a significant public relations boost at a time when both are reeling from a severe property slump exacerbated by the global recession.
Emaar Properties said that the shiny metal and glass Burj Dubai "is scheduled to open this year".
"More details on the launch will be provided in due course," the company said in response to questions. It did not make officials available for comment.
Emaar previously said the 800m-plus building, whose name in Arabic means "Dubai Tower", would open in September. That deadline now appears in doubt, as parts of its facade still appear incomplete.
The developer has kept many details of the project secret, including its final height. Little is known about the amount of work still needed to outfit the building's approximately 160 floors.
Abu Dhabi's the National newspaper, citing conversations with two unnamed contractors working on the project, reported that much work remains to be completed and that the skyscraper's opening would be delayed until December.
Greg Sang, Emaar's Project Manager, declined to comment further.
Emaar's profits and share price have taken a beating from falling property prices in Dubai and elsewhere.
The developer last week shut an office overseeing £12.2 billion worth of real estate projects in Algeria, citing "a lack of progress which is beyond the company's control".
In February, the company's John Laing Homes division in the US filed for bankruptcy protection, citing a weakening demand for new homes. A month later, Emaar said it would run its Indonesian operations from its Dubai headquarters rather than the capital, Jakarta.
The developer last year pushed back the opening date of a huge shopping Centre near the Burj Dubai just a day before the widely anticipated mall was due to open.
Source: www.nzherald.co.nz