The developer of the world's tallest tower in Dubai has completed installing the exterior walls following severe setbacks that contributed to a year-long delay in finishing the building.
The exterior cladding work on Emaar's Burj Dubai was delayed in late 2006, when Schmidlin Facade Technology, the cladding contractor based in Switzerland, went bankrupt.
Arabian Aluminium Company and its Hong Kong partner, Far East Aluminium, later took over the contract and started cladding work on the tower in May 2007.
The changeover was believed to have delayed work on the tower, which is thought to have topped out earlier this year at 818 metres, by about six months.
Revisions to the project, including the addition of extra floors to accommodate a communications centre, also pushed the completion date back from April this year to the end of the year.
Emaar said the total weight of aluminium used on Burj Dubai, which is the centrepiece of the 202-hectare Downtown Burj Dubai, was equivalent to that of five double-decker A380 aircraft. A total of 24,348 cladding panels over a curtain wall area of 132,190 square metres was used, requiring a team of more than 380 engineers and technicians.
The company's chairman, Mohammed Alabbar, said completion of the cladding work was "a milestone both for Burj Dubai and the science of high-rise engineering".
"Burj Dubai's construction and engineering techniques are unprecedented, and they are our contribution to the science of high-rise development," he said.
"The cladding work has involved considerable innovation - vast amounts of research and simulation have pioneered advanced materials and installation techniques."
Mr Alabbar said one of the key considerations when designing the cladding was "maximising resistance against heat transmission from the sun and improving energy efficiency within the tower".
The last crane at the top of the Burj Dubai is expected to come down soon.
Contractors including Arabtec Construction, Samsung of South Korea and Besix of Belgium have worked around the clock to get the tower finished, which at its peak required a team of about 7,000 construction workers, 24 hours a day.
The trio was awarded the Dh3.2 billion (US$871 million) contract to build the skyscraper, which will also include the world's first Armani Hotel and Armani Residences, in 2004.
agiuffrida@thenational.ae
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
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Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
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THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
THE%20SPECS
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
MEYDAN CARD
6.30pm Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm Conditions Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
7.40pm Handicap Dh190,000 (D) 2,000m
8.15pm Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 2,200m
8.50pm The Entisar Listed Dh265,000 (D) 2,000m
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10pm Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,400m
The National selections
6.30pm Majestic Thunder
7.05pm Commanding
7.40pm Mark Of Approval
8.15pm Mulfit
8.50pm Gronkowski
9.25pm Walking Thunder
10pm Midnight Sands
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
List of UAE medal winners
Gold
Faisal Al Ketbi (Open weight and 94kg)
Talib Al Kirbi (69kg)
Omar Al Fadhli (56kg)
Silver
Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Khalfan Belhol (85kg)
Zayed Al Mansoori (62kg)
Mouza Al Shamsi (49kg women)
Bronze
Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi (Open and 94kg)
Saood Al Hammadi (77kg)
Said Al Mazroui (62kg)
Obaid Al Nuaimi (56kg)
Bashayer Al Matrooshi (62kg women)
Reem Abdulkareem (45kg women)
