by Donald Wood
Last updated: 2:00 PM ET, Tue April 12, 2016
PHOTO: Tower at Dubai Creek Harbor designer Santiago Calatrava discusses the project. (via YouTube)
Developers in Dubai announcing plans to build a tower that will be taller than the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.
Emaar Properties will be the company behind the project, and officials revealed the new tower would feature rotating balconies and elevated landscaping inspired by the gardens of Babylon.
While the plans of how much taller the new structure would be than the Burj Khalifa were not revealed, Emaar Properties Chairman Mohamed Alabbar announced that the tower would cost $1 billion to build and would be a cable-supported spire more than a traditional skyscraper.
Inside the new tower would be observation decks, hotel, restaurants, glass balconies and much more, but builders believe even when the project is completed, it will likely not be considered the tallest building in the world. Many building companies state that for a structure to be considered for tallest in the world, at least 50 percent of a structure's height must contain usable floor area.
The new Dubai tower will be part of a bigger project that includes a 2.3 square-mile development near Dubai Creek, and builders hope the structure will entice both tourists and locals to pay for apartments to capitalize on the views.
While no exact timetable for an opening has been released, officials want the tower to debut before Dubai hosts the World Expo in 2020.
There are some safety concerns for the new tower following a New Year's Eve fire at The Address Downtown hotel in the same area as the planned structure, though. Alabbar addressed the safety concerns to the media:
"Safety rules are good, but can you really eliminate all risk? I don't think human beings are able to eliminate all risk. Risks are there as long as we are progressing ... These things do happen, and you have to go and fix them and make sure if they happen, they happen to a minimum."
The project is discussed at length in the below:
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