Well that is what you get when you bailout your debt sunken neighbor: they name their triumph tower after you. Whether it was through hand-twisting or utmost kindness, Dubai surprised the world today with the last minute change in name. Sheikh Mohammed told live television: “The world’s tallest point should be associated with big names and I hereby officially announce Burj Khalifa bin Zayed.” Burj Khalifa, the new name for Burj Dubai, developed by Emaar Properties PJSC, is the world’s tallest man-made skyscraper standing at 828-meters of construction. It is named after Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed ruler of Abu Dhabi and President of the United Arab Emirates. The Burj broke new records with its inauguration today as the tallest structure with the highest place of worship, highest service elevator, swimming pool, and observation deck.
The Burj is seen by some as a symbol of excess and a proof that supports Economist Andrew Lawrence’s Skyscraper’s Index. Ironically, the inauguration which is expected to have cost less that last year’s $24 million inauguration of Atlantis Dubai, is hoped to rekindle optimism into the debt-ridden sheikhdom. Thousands of people and hundreds of VIP individuals attended the opening ceremony, but it was peculiar that the “celebrated” Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed himself wasn’t there. In the six years it has taken to build the $1.5 billion tower and the $20B surrounding overall project, Dubai’s debt-fueled property market has gone from the best to worst performing market.
While Emaar sold 90% of the properties in the tower, it is expected to have an occupancy rate of 75%. Apartment prices have soared in the peak of 2008 to as much as 10,000 dirham ($2,700) per square foot only to plummet to less than half that amount. Maintenance fees at Burj Khalifa are expected to range between 80– 90 dirham per square foot annually, which is much higher than the 18- 20 dirham average in the surrounding area. I’m not sure if anyone, company or person, can justify paying premiums today for luxury over practicality.
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Loading ...Tags: Burj Dubai, Burj Khalifa, Debt, dubai, Emaar, inauguration, Sheikh Khalifa, UAE
This is the tallest tower indeed, but it may set yet another new record: the tallest bill/receipt for a name change!
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I really think people are reading too much into the name change. What’s wrong with showing a little appreciation?
The UAE is a federation. End of story.
The PIGS have been surviving off Germany and France and other powerful Euro states for years now. No one makes a big deal about it.
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Mustafa Bir Reply:
January 11th, 2010 at 4:43 am
If you “really think people are reading too much into the name change” you’re the only person I’ve met who does.
Sheikh Mo knew exactly what interpretation people would put on the namechange.
But despite the embarrassment of knowing what everybody would think, he still changed the name.
The only conclusion is that $20bn, when you’re desperate for it, is worth any amount of loss of face.
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dxb kola Reply:
January 11th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
The critical difference between people like me and the multitudes who believe what you do about the name change, is that we are a little more imaginative and understand that if Dubai had NOT gone through a financial crisis, Sheikh Mohammed might have planned to honour Sheikh Khalifa all along. But I guess we will never know now, right?
If you are a Gulf Arab then I can only assume that you are far too modern, because the citizens of the Gulf will discern nothing new in such an act.
You say that “despite the embarrassment of knowing what everybody would think, he still changed the name.”
Exactly. He went along anyway because Sheikh Mohammed is a big man.
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[...] latest $10 billion Dubai received from Abu Dhabi to pay Nakheel bond on December 14, 2009 is the reason behind the name change. Photo by TimeFireworks explode around the Burj Khalifa during the opening [...]
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