The Burj Dubai Opens!

Comparative height of tall buildings
The world’s tallest tower is opening today in Dubai: the Burj Dubai (which will be renamed the Burj Khalifa bin Zayed after the United Arab Emirates’ president) is 2,717 feet tall and has 162 floors. It will have an outdoor observation deck on the 124th floor, a hotel designed by Giorgio Armani, and the world’s highest mosque, on the 158th floor. The opening ceremony is expected to feature an elaborate fireworks display and assorted other festivities. The building was conceived in 2004, during the height of Dubai’s financial boom, but the opening of its doors coincides with a precipitous drop in Dubai’s economic fortunes. The jury is still out on whether the Burj Dubai will be able to fill its floors with tenants, and its status as tallen building in the world may soon be in jeopardy – several construction companies in Kuwait, Bahrain and Argentina have already announced that they will be competing for that honor in the coming years.
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