May 10, 2004

Osama Bin Laden's family to build world's tallest building "The Saudi Binladin Group has been short-listed to build the world’s tallest building. It is the only Arab company on the short-list for the construction of the 705-meter Burj Dubai in the emirate, scheduled for completion in 2008."

"The skyscraper will outstrip by more than 250 meters the current contender, Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, and will house a hotel wing, apartments, offices, entertainment centers and restaurants. A spokesman for UAE developer Emaar Properties earlier told the Gulf News daily the projects also included one of the world’s largest malls — the Dubai Mall with over two million square feet of retail space — and a mock “old town”, making it “a city within a city.”"

posted by ernie 20 years ago
  • Like cheese with that terrorist target?
  • Holy cow I'm going to die from excessive irony poisoning. Speaking of ironic ...
  • I'm taking flying lessons already.
  • there is a lot of room between 'short listed' and actually hired. They are Saudi Arabia's largest construction firm, so this doesn't really seem unusual to me.
  • 705 m = 2313 ft. Quite impressive!
  • So what are the odds a Southern Baptist from Georgia will fly an airliner into it?
  • SB's don't typically have suicide mentalities, at least not religiously motivated ones (that I'm aware).
  • mare, I hope you're not implying what I think you're implying...
  • I guess this page will be a little out of date then. But I'm also confused - the Petronas Towers appear to be only 452 metres, but claim to be the tallest buildings in the world? Maybe just the tallest with offices etc inside.
  • Sorry - should have said - Petronas are only 452, while the CN Tower is 553m, but the CN has no offices - it's a communications tower (as well as a restaurant and over priced tourist trap :)
  • I wonder how will all those towers, cities and hyper-luxurious developments will look like down the road, when the oil is gone.
  • It'll be a desert shithole again, Flagpole.
  • Flagpole I agree - although at least they are spending their money on infrastructure, not products. If I ran the UAE I'd build the best universities and the best education systems in the world.
  • niccolo, if you ran the UAE I might want to go there. As it stands, the degree in Islamic studies doesn't tempt me that much. Not that it's not fine, just not my field.
  • Wolof, I've heard differing stories about Dubai and the United Arab Emirates. Many people have told me how wonderful it is, how safe, etc. However I read on another website: Walking At Night - Young males, and occationaly young females, found wondering the streets at night are sometimes picked up and spend a night in jail. They are released the next morning after being finger printed, as the police want to ensure that no crimes happen at night. I agree, I would be really hesitant about visiting their cities, however I expect it differs depending upon which Emirate you visit. Nonetheless, no matter where it's located, it's good to see some interesting construction taking place.