MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Dubai, land of man made islands and skyscrapers

CEO Christopher O'Donnell

Dubai announced on Sunday plans to build a more than one kilometer high sky scraper, an undertaking that will demand over ten years to construct and billions of dollars, possibly becoming the world's tallest building, according to developers Nakheel.

The Islamic design-inspired Nakheel Tower will be the centre piece of a multi-billion dollars inner-city harbor development in Dubai covering an area of 270 hectares. Its makers claim it will be so tall that the tower will experience five different microclimatic conditions above its height. And high speed shuttle lifts will mean people will be able to see the sunset twice - from the bottom and again from the top of the building. Nakheel is the same company that created man-made islands in the shapes of a palm tree and the world and the new skyscraper will be located between the two islands. The project includes a manmade inland harbor and 40 additional towers up to 90 floors high. About 150 elevators will carry employees and workers to the Nakheel Tower's more than 200 floors, the company said. The building will be composed of four separate towers joined at various levels and centered on an open atrium. Chief executive officer, Christopher O'Donnell, cautiously told a news conference: "From our perspective, we are building a tower that's going to be over one kilometer in height". "This is a complete iconic development. It may be the tallest. Someone may build something taller." But "tallest building" claims are notoriously difficult to make. Debates about what counts as a candidate include whether buildings under construction should be considered and whether roof-top antennas count. What is certain is that the tower will climb above the current holder of the "world's tallest building" position - the Emirate's own Burj Dubai. Asked if the firm was worried about embarking on such a development during a global financial crisis, Mr O'Donnell said: "It was always going to be a project that would take 10 years-plus". "When you go about trying to fund a project like this, you have to take account of the economic cycles". The company would not comment on how much the tower will cost to build As part of government-run conglomerate Dubai World, Nakheel has played a major role in creating modern-day Dubai, a city that has blossomed from a tiny Persian Gulf fishing and pearling village into a major business and tourism hub in a matter of decades. Besides the growing archipelago of man-made islands for which it is best known, Nakheel is responsible for a number of the city's malls, hotels and hundreds of apartment buildings. The company said the new project is inspired by Islamic design and draws inspiration from sites such as the Alhambra in Spain and the harbor of Alexandria in Egypt.