Over four in 10 respondents to a new poll believe the delay to the Burj Dubai is a missed opportunity to put Dubai back on the global map.
The Burj Dubai, which will be the world’s tallest building once it is completed, had been set to open on the same day as Dubai’s futuristic metro network, a plan that now appears to have been shelved.
In total 43 percent of respondents to the poll carried out by Maktoob Business agreed that launching both the metro and the Burj Dubai on the same day was a chance to capture the world’s imagination, and generate a wave of positive global press after a sustained period of negative publicity for the city.
An additional 17 percent of respondents believed the Sept. 9 deadline was important for another reason – to show that Dubai Inc is able to meet its own deadlines.
With the world watching the construction of the world’s tallest building, this was the opportunity, respondents agreed, to show Dubai Inc hits its targets.
“Some deadlines are as important as the building itself,” they agreed.
However, for almost one-third of respondents, missing the September deadline was deemed an irrelevance.
“This is an icon which will tell a story of Dubai in hundreds of years. A couple of months really don’t matter,” they agreed.
A further 7 percent of respondents agreed that while it was a shame the Burj and metro would not have a simultaneous launch, in the grand scheme of things it is not so important.
Emaar Chairman Mohamed Ali Alabbar told reporters in June 2008 that the tower would open in September, nine months later than initially planned. That plan was rescinded last week with Emaar only committing to a full opening some time this year.
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.
By David Westley http://business.maktoob.com
