ArabianBusiness.com

In terms of acquisitions, Sweid said these might be "further down the line now that we're consolidating all the business that we have". In terms of its work on the Burj Khalifa, Sweid said the full value of the contract had been paid in full and on time by Emaar, although the firm was pursuing a claim against Samsung, the primary contractor on the tower, as work took longer than expected.

Nominations for the prestigious Arabian Business Achievement Awards have opened, with the winners to be announced at a glittering ceremony on November 30th at Dubai’s Armani Hotel. This year’s awards will span 15 categories, including technology, media, retail and the sought after titles of Businessman and Businesswoman of the Year.

Armani-branded residences in the Burj Khalifa are comparatively holding their sale value, despite other apartments in the world’s tallest tower seeing price declines of more than 70 percent, real estate brokers have said. Average sale prices for the tower’s 144 luxury Armani Residences are valued at AED4-5,000 per square foot; at their minimum, almost double the AED2,800 per sq ft commanded by the remainder of the skyscraper’s 900 apartments, said Catherine Clarke, head of residential valuations at real estate consultancy firm Colliers International.

The second hotel, located in Milan, is still on schedule to open in mid-2011. The first Giorgio Armani-designed hotel opened in the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai last April and Dardenne said he was pleased with the reception it had received. “These hotels you build them up over the years. I think, eventually, some people will come to Dubai just to stay at the hotel. It is bringing something new to Dubai and that has been very positive,” he added.

Using Khan's Bundled Tube structural engineering principles, the building takes its strength from the combination of nine main structures arranged in a three by three grid that make up the impressive complex. It's a clever arrangement. All towers rise to 50-storeys, where the northeast and southwest buildings stop. The remaining seven towers continue to the 66th floor where the northeast and southwest structures end, and at 90-storeys, the north, south and east floors top out. The two remaining towers, the west and central towers, then stretch to 110 floors, the building's top. A similar system of bundled towers was used by SOM to construct the Burj Khalifa.

Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum said the emirate is recovering after state-controlled holding company Dubai World reached a debt restructuring settlement with creditors. Dubai’s vision is unchanged after projects such as Meydan’s racecourse and Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building developed by Emaar Properties, were completed on schedule, Sheikh Mohammed said. “All the projects that were there are going ahead,” although some may be delayed for six months to a year, he said.

Drake & Scull boss Khaldoun Tabari has scooped the prestigious “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the CEO Middle East Awards. Tabari was presented with the award at a special ceremony held on Monday night at The Armani Hotel, Dubai. The judges remarked that “under Tabari’s stewardship Drake & Scull has become one of the Gulf region’s most prominent MEP contractors.”

No great surprise here. The Burj Khalifa burst onto the international scene at the beginning of this year with a massive fanfare, fireworks and festivities at the dawn of the new decade after a much anticipated build. The fanfare wasn't without merit: the building smashing almost every record - and by a considerable margin. What's not commonly known is that the Burj actually bagged several world-topping records when it was opened (see below), and set new heights for others to attempt to surpass.

Dubai-based interiors contractor Depa Ltd fell into the red in the first half of the year due to an outstanding claim relating to a project, it said on Thursday, sending its shares lower. Depa said in a statement it made a net loss of 103.6 million dirhams ($28.21 million) due to a claim relating to Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower in Dubai.

Depa Limited, the interior design contractor who fitted out the Emirates Palace Hotel, Burj Al Arab and Burj Khalifa, has signed a $60m contract in Angola, the Dubai-based company announced on Wednesday. Based in Dubai, but with sixteen offices and 8,000 staff worldwide, Depa has worked on projects such as the Atlantis Hotel, Armani Hotel and Burj Al Arab in Dubai, Yas Island and Emirates Palace hotels in Abu Dhabi, the Dubai Metro, Dubai Airport and the Savoy and Waldorf hotels in London.