(Dubai) -- The world's tallest building has been opened with a dramatic
fireworks ceremony in the Gulf emirate of Dubai.
The Burj Khalifa was revealed to be 828m (2,716ft) high, far
taller than the previous record holder, Taipei 101.
Known as the Burj Dubai during construction, the tower has
been renamed after the leader of Dubai's oil-rich neighbour, Abu Dhabi.
Last month, Abu Dhabi gave Dubai a handout of $10bn
(£6.13bn) to help it pay off its debts.
Construction of the Burj Dubai began in 2004, at the height
of an economic boom.
Clad in 28,000 glass panels, the tower has 160 floors and
more than 500,000 sq m of space for offices and flats.
This great project deserves to carry the name of a great man
Sheikh Mohammed.
The tower also lays claim to the highest occupied floor, the
tallest service lift, and the world's highest observation deck - on the 124th
floor.
The world's highest
mosque and swimming pool will meanwhile
be located on the 158th and 76th floors.
Technical challenges
The opening ceremony, held 1,325 days after excavation work
started, was attended by some 6,000 guests.
Though not complete on the inside, it was officially opened
by Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
In a surprise move he renamed it Burj Khalifa - after the
president of the United Arab Emirates and emir of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin
Zayed Al Nahayan.
Sheikh Mohammed described the tower as "the tallest
building ever created by the hand of man".
"This great project deserves to carry the name of a
great man. Today I inaugurate Burj Khalifa," he said.
Sheikh Mohammed also unveiled a plaque inside the tower
bearing the new name.
A dramatic fireworks and lights show took place around the
tower while a screen displayed its exact height, which had previously been kept
secret.
At 828m, Burj Khalifa dwarfs the 508m Taipei 101 and the
629m KVLY-TV mast in the US, the tallest man-made structure. Its spire can been
seen 95km (60 miles) away.
"We weren't sure how high we could go," said Bill
Baker of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the building's structural engineer.
"It was kind of an exploration... a learning experience."
Mohamed Ali Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties, the
developer behind Burj Khalifa, told the BBC that the building's design had
posed unprecedented technical and logistical challenges, not just because of
its height, but also because Dubai was susceptible to high winds and was close
to a geological fault line.
"We have been hit with lightning twice, there was a big
earthquake last year that came across from Iran, and we have had all types of
wind which has hit us when we were building. The results have been good and I
salute the designers and professionals who helped build it," he said.
The design incorporates ideas from traditional Islamic
architecture, while the open petals of a desert flower were the inspiration for
the tower's base.
Burj Khalifa will be home to 1,044 luxury apartments, 49
floors of offices and eventually a 160-room Armani-branded hotel. Around 12,000
people are expected to live and work in the tower, which is part of a 500-acre
development.
However, investors are facing losses even before the tower
is completed because property prices in Dubai have slumped amid the global
economic crisis.
Some apartments were selling for $2,700 per sq ft, but are
now going for less than half that. Analysts say it will be particularly hard to
lease office space because few companies can justify paying premiums for
luxury.
The BBC's Malcolm Borthwick in Dubai says developers are
holding back on new flagship projects, so Burj Khalifa could mark the end of an
era for skyscrapers in the Gulf - at least in the short term.
