Dubai is aiming to break yet another property record with plans revealed yesterday to build the world's tallest commercial building at Jumeirah Lakes Towers.
The office tower plans were unveiled by Ahmed bin Sulayem, the executive chairman of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre. The centre already houses the tallest commercial building in the Middle East with Almas Tower, home of the Dubai Diamond Exchange.
Mr bin Sulayem would not reveal how tall the building would be, however, or when construction would start and finish.
The height of record-breaking buildings, and the depth of their foundations, is usually kept secret until construction is as close to complete as possible.
There are three other office-only buildings under construction, however, that are all destined to be taller than the Taipei 101 tower in Taiwan, which at 508 metres, is the tallest complete commercial building according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
The Zhongguo Zun tower under construction in Beijing is expected to be 528 metres, One World Trade Center being built in New York is planned to be 541 metres, while the Ping An tower in Shenzhen is expected to dwarf them all at 660 metres.
This would mean the proposed JLT tower would have to approach 700 metres to break the record, bringing it within 100 metres or so of Dubai's 828-metre Burj Khalifa.
"Building the world's tallest tower is in the Dubai DNA," Mr bin Sulayem said.
"We will use the best technology, the best materials and the best designers in the world to bring this project to life."
DMCC also announced that Berenson Mena, an investment bank with offices in Kuwait and New York, would be advising on the tallest tower project, which is part of a wholesale expansion of the JLT complex.