Dubai:
Dubai is set to open the world's tallest building amid tight security on Monday, celebrating the tower as a bold feat on the world stage, despite the city state's shaky financial footing.
But the final height of the Burj Dubai, Arabic for Dubai Tower, remained a closely guarded secret on the eve of its opening. At more than 2,625 feet (800 metres), it long ago vanquished its nearest rival, the Taipei 101 in Taiwan.
The Burj's record-seeking developers did not stop there. The building boasts the most storeys and highest occupied floor of any building in the world, and ranks as the world's tallest structure, beating out a television mast in North Dakota. Its observation deck, on floor 124, also sets a record.
Bill Baker, the building's structural engineer, who is in Dubai for the inauguration said the engineers weren't sure how high they could go, and that the process was a learning experience.
The Burj's developer, Emaar Properties, kept pushing the design higher even after construction began, eventually putting it about 984 feet (300 metres) taller than its nearest competitor, Baker said. He is keeping quiet about the exact height.
Dubai's ruler will open the tapering metal-and-glass spire with a fireworks display on Monday evening.
"We have to give them credit for an engineering feat and it's also very symbolic, it's the tallest building in the world. It speaks to the economic momentum Dubai has had, for several years now," said Saud Masud, the Head of Research and Senior Analyst, Real Estate at UBS investment Bank in Dubai.
But the Burj's opening comes at a tough time for Dubai's economy. Property prices in newer parts of the sheikdom have collapsed by nearly half over the past year.
The city-state turned to its richer neighbour Abu Dhabi for a series of bailouts totaling 25 billion (b) US dollars in 2009 to help cover debts amassed by a network of state-linked companies.
Burj developer Emaar is itself partly owned by the government, but is not among the companies known to have received emergency cash. Emaar has said the entire Downtown Burj Dubai development, which includes the tower, will cost 20 billion (b) US dollars to build. Sales of properties around the Burj are meant to help pay for the tower itself, which analysts say is unlikely to be profitable on its own.
Analyst Saud Masud said the Burj also "puts Dubai on the map in an ironic way because real estate housing downturn, is what is responsible for the current economic down cycle."
At their peak, some apartments in the Burj were selling for more than 1,900 US dollars per square foot, though they now can go for less than half of that, said Heather Wipperman Amiji, chief executive of Dubai real estate consultancy Investment Boutique.
Besides luxury apartments and offices, the Burj will be home to a hotel designed by Giorgio Armani.