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Burj Dubai Opens

The tallest building in the world, the Burj Dubai stands at just over 2,625 feet.

From The Wall Street Journal -- Interior Design, 1/4/2010 12:00:00 AM

Photo: Reuters/Ana Marin

From The Wall Street Journal: The opening Monday of the world's tallest skyscraper could mark a turning point in Dubai's fortunes and those of its ruler after a year that saw both come under intense scrutiny.

Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the city-state's 60-year-old hereditary leader, hopes the building and its surrounding $20 billion development will help enhance his reputation among international investors and restore Dubai's allure as a business hub.

Sheikh Mohamed said that the tower, until now known as the Burj Dubai, will be renamed Burj Khalifa Bin Zayed after the president of the United Arab Emirates.

The building stands at just over 2,625 feet. Developer Emaar Properties didn't disclose the tower's final height ahead of the opening, although most estimates put it at 2,684 feet, far taller than Taiwan's Taipei 101, which had been the world's tallest skyscraper at 1,670 feet.
To continue reading the story, please visit online.wsj.com. See a video of the opening celebration below.

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  Size does matter.....
  Reference the following article in the NYTimes and form your own opinion.
  
  In Dubai, an Outcry From Asians for Workplace Rights
  
  
  By HASSAN M. FATTAH
  Published: March 26, 2006
  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, March 25 — For Rajee Kumaran, this was the city of dreams.
  
  Stephanie Kuykendal for The New York Times
  Many workers, at sites like this one in Dubai, paid corrupt recruiters high fees to get to the emirates, ending up in cramped camps earning low pay.
  Dubai's gleaming high rises, idyllic beaches and seemingly limitless opportunities glittered on the pages of brochures and in the stories told by laborers returning home to his native Kerala, India. But after five years here, surviving in squalid conditions and barely making ends meet on less than $200 a month, Mr. Kumaran, 28, says his dream has long since faded.

  
  

  
  

  Barbara Burrets - 2010-01-05 07:46:00 EST
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