Burj Dubai opens to public

Blazing fireworks and dazzling lights marked the opening of the world's tallest tower, Burj Dubai, which the Gulf Emirates hopes will pep up its international image, shaken by debt woes. The USD 1.5 billion structure, an "unprecedented" engineering marvel that was thrown open to the public on Monday, was built with a major contribution from India - a vast labour force. The steel and glass tower was opened by Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid al Maktoum, who also lifted the veil on a closely guarded secret of its final height. Declaring that the tower is 818 metres (2,684 feet) high, the new building pips all its nearest rivals, including the 101-storey high Taipei Tower in Taiwan.
The Dubai Burj's record seeking builders are also boasting of the highest occupied floor of any building in the world and today the needle-shaped tower ranks taller than north Dakota's Television mast. Emaar Properties, the biggest developers in the Gulf said only 160 of the 200 floors of the tower would be occupied with the 40 remaining floors left for services. The tower will have 1,044 apartments and 49 floors of office space serviced by 57 high-speed lifts. Sheikh Mohammad inaugurated the tower in a colourful ceremony featuring dazzling laser lights, fireworks display and a choreographed water display on the Dubai fountains which stretch for 275 metres at the foot of the tower. Burj Dubai's building cost are estimated USD 1.5 billion, with 90 per cent of the building already sold. That comes out to more than USD 9 million per floor.

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