August 30, 2008

Burj Dubai delayed due to interior design

Emaar said that the 4 month delay to construction of Emaar Properties' Burj Dubai is related to the interior design of the tower. As per report, Burj Dubai, which was slated to open sometime before Christmas this year, may not now be finished until spring 2009.

Emaar said that it would rather see a nominal delay to the project than compromise the quality of building's interior. It said “The company would rather opt for a nominal delay in total quality execution of the Burj Dubai interiors than compromise on any aspect of quality. Several design considerations for the interiors were rejected at various stages of the project development."

The statement follows remarks by Emaar Chairman Mohamed Alabbar earlier on Tuesday that the Burj Dubai was four months behind schedule and might now not be finished by the end of this year as originally planned.

Burj Dubai currently stands at just over 600 meters, over 90 meters higher than the world's tallest building, Taiwan's Taipei 101 and over 40 meters higher than the world's tallest free standing structure, Toronto's CN Tower. The only structure now left for the Burj to overtake is the KVLY/KTHI television mast at Blanchard is US, which measures 628.8 meters. Emaar has remained tight lipped over the final height, but it is rumored to be between 700 and 1,000 meters.

The Burj Dubai is to be the centerpiece of a city within a city, Downtown Burj Dubai. The USD 20 billion development as a whole will include 30,000 homes, nine hotels, 6.2 acres of parkland, 19 residential towers, the Dubai Mall, and a 30 acre manmade lake.