Dubai skyscraper world's tallest building
by Gulliver

A skyscraper still under construction in the oil rich Persian Gulf state of Dubai has become the world's tallest building, say its developers.

The 512m (1,680ft) Burj Dubai has now overtaken Taiwan's Taipei 101 which has dominated the global skyline at 508m (1,667ft) since 2004, say Emaar Properties.

The Burj Dubai is expected to be completed in 2008. While its planned final height has been kept secret it will stop somewhere over 693m (2,275ft) tall.

When finished, the skyscraper will feature more than 160 floors, 56 elevators, luxury apartments, boutiques, swimming pools, spas, exclusive corporate suites, Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani's first hotel, and a 124th floor observation platform.

"It's a symbol of Dubai as a city of the world," Greg Sang, the project director for Emaar Properties, told news media.

Mohammed Ali Alabbar, chairman of Emaar, said it will be an architectural and engineering masterpiece of concrete, steel and glass. Dubai has "resisted the usual and has inspired to build a global icon," he said.

"It's a human achievement without equal."

Building began on September 21 2004. The skyscraper's spire is expected to be able to be seen from 100km (60 miles) away.

Previous skyscraper record-holders include New York's Empire State Building at 381m (1,250 ft); Shanghai's Jin Mao Building at 421m (1,381 ft); Chicago's Sears Tower at 442m (1,451 ft) and Malaysia's Petronas Towers at 452m (1,483 ft).

The CN Tower, in Toronto, Canada, is the world's tallest freestanding structure, at 553m (1,815.3 ft).
The Burj will let the Middle East reclaim the world's tallest structure. Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza, built around 2500 B.C., held the title with its 481 feet (147 meters) until the Eiffel Tower in Paris was built in 1889 at a height of 985 feet (300 meters), or 1,023 feet (312 meters) including the flag pole.

While the tower's architects and engineers are American and the main building contractor is South Korean, most of the 4,000 laborers are Indian. They work around the clock in Dubai's sizzling summer and they have no set minimum wage. There are regular protests against labor abuse in Dubai by human rights groups