DUBAI - The opening of the Burj Dubai, set to become the world’s tallest tower, has been pushed back by one month until Jan. 4 next year, its developer Emaar Properties said on Wednesday.The tower will now open to mark the day when Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum took office four years ago, Emaar Chairman Mohamed Alabbar said in an emailed statement.
Alabbar said last month Emaar was aiming to open the Burj Dubai on Dec. 2 to coincide with UAE National Day.
The delay is the latest setback for the mega-project, which was originally scheduled to be completed by the end of 2008.
The Burj Dubai is the centrepiece of the luxury $20 billion development Downtown Burj Dubai, which includes 30,000 homes, nine hotels, 6.2 acres of parkland, 19 residential towers, the Dubai Mall, and a 30-acre manmade lake with one of the world’s largest fountains.
The 160-storey Burj Dubai currently towers more than 800 metres above the city. Emaar has yet to reveal the final height of the tower, but it is believed to be around 808 metres high, or half a mile.
Emaar plans for the Burj Dubai to eventually be the tallest structure in the world in all four of the criteria listed by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).
The council measures height to the structural top, the highest occupied floor, to the top of the roof, and to the tip of the spire, pinnacle, antenna, mast or flag pole.
The Burj Dubai will not be officially recognised as the world's tallest structure until it is completed.
The current tallest building in the world is the Taipei 101 in Taiwan at 509.2 metres.