10 Jan 2007
Dubai: Passengers flying into Dubai's planned Jebel Ali airport should not be alarmed when greeted by the imposing figure of a 140-metre tall human figure.
The structure will in fact be a 35-storey tower designed to resemble a man dressed in traditional Gulf Arab dress yet another remarkable landmark set to hit Dubai's skyline.
The Dh500 million Burj Al Arabi development will be built in Jumeirah Village and is set for hand over in 2009. When complete it is expected to be featured in the Guinness Book World of Records as the biggest concrete and glass human-shaped building in the world.
The UAE is set to boast a city of rotating towers, a fully-rotating solar powered tower, the world's tallest building, a property resembling a national flag and not one but three of the biggest man-made islands ever built.
He added that AAA Group will increase its investment into Dubai property development to Dh10 billion in the next three years.
"It will rank alongside the Burj Arab and similar projects as a truly local icon that reflects both Islamic and Arabic history," he said.
The project also received the backing of Islamic scholar, Ahmad Al Kubaisi, a UAE national.
"Our Islamic and Arabic history is full of what we can be proud of but we do not make enough effort to reflect this in our real estate sector, as many developers race to copy foreign buildings which have nothing to do with our property heritage nor highlight our historic values," he said.
"Burj Al Arabi is not intended to be the statute of a person, but symbolises a particular style of dress. It honours the religion, culture and language of the Arab people from a real estate perspective."
Designed by Al Ajmani consultants, the Burj Al Arabi tower will have a total built area of 400,000 square feet, of which 350,000 square feet will be for freeehold commercial offices and the remainder will be for retail outlets, restaurants and parking. The "iqal" or peak of the tower may include a rotating restaurant and conference centre.
Construction is expected to start in the first quarter of this year, with sales held back until an undisclosed date.
By Robert Ditcham
Gulf News 2007. All rights reserved.
