by James Boley www.constructionweekonline.com
Developer Emaar has confirmed the Burj Dubai will open on December 2nd.
Speaking to CNN, Emaar chairman Mohammed Alabbar said the developer was aiming for a UAE National Day opening, as previously reported by Construction Week.
Alabbar said he was “shooting for UAE National Day”, adding that “12,000 staff were working inside trying to get the building ready.”
The final cladding on the Burj Dubai was installed at the start of October, 18 months after the project began.
In total, there are 24,348 cladding panels covering a total curtain wall area of 132,190m² and using 103,000m² of glass – enough to cover 14 football pitches.
The 15,500m² of embossed stainless steel is the equivalent of 34 basketball courts, while the total length of gaskets – 2,050,000 linear metres – would reach from Dubai to Damascus if laid end-to-end.
The total weight of aluminium used on the Burj Dubai is approximately the same as five A380 aircrafts and the total length of stainless steel bull nose fins is 293 times the height of the Eiffel Tower.
