JEDDAH, 10 May 2004 — The Saudi Binladin Group has been short-listed to build the world’s tallest building. It is the only Arab company on the short-list for the construction of the 705-meter Burj Dubai in the emirate, scheduled for completion in 2008.
The skyscraper will outstrip by more than 250 meters the current contender, Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, and will house a hotel wing, apartments, offices, entertainment centers and restaurants.
A spokesman for UAE developer Emaar Properties earlier told the Gulf News daily the projects also included one of the world’s largest malls — the Dubai Mall with over two million square feet of retail space — and a mock “old town”, making it “a city within a city.”
Record-obsessed Dubai is already home to the world’s largest man-made island, the Palm Jumeirah, and the world’s first seven-star hotel, the Burj Al-Arab.
Fittingly, the Binladin group is Saudi Arabia’s biggest construction company and has carried out projects including the expansion of the two holy mosques in Makkah and Madinah.
Construction of the Burj Dubai project has already started, with excavation of the site completed recently.
Sales of residential units in the tower will start soon, said an official with Emaar Properties. This follows the bullish response to the apartment sales on the six high-rises branded “The Residences”, and part of the wider Burj Dubai project.
