Estimates of the final height of Burj Dubai range as high as 940 metres (3,084 feet). The United Arab Emirates decided to build the world's tallest building in Dubai as part of a major transition from a trade-based, oil-reliant economy to a service-oriented tourist destination.
Burj Dubai will be the center of a development that includes 30,000 homes, 9 hotels, 6 acres of parkland, 19 residential towers and a 12-hectare lake. Full costs are projected to be US$2 billion. In addition to bestowing the Middle East with the title of hosting the tallest structure on earth, the skyscraper will make Dubai an internationally renown city.
Burj Dubai is being built to attract international customers. Building a world trade center in the Mideast is fitting goal considering that the project is being built primarily by immigrant engineers and workers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines. South Korea's Samsung Corp. is the chief contractor for construction of the skyscraper. Currently workers are finishing one floor every 7 days.
The skyscraper will feature the world's fastest elevator, with speeds of up to 65 kilometers per second (40 mph). The world's largest manufacturer of elevators, Otis Elevator is building the elevators for Burj Dubai.
And The Winner Is...
American corporation Otis Elevator designs, produces, installs and services elevators, escalators and moving walkways. Otis developed the flat-belt elevator in the late 1990s. Flat-belt elevators feature coated-steel belts that are stronger, quieter and last 3 times as long as traditional steel cables. Flat-belt technology is gearless, reduces power consumption and doesn't require lubrication.
In 2006 Otis will generate $10 billion in revenues. Otis continues to win many of the world's highest profile elevator contracts in addition to the Burj Dubai tower housing condominiums and corporate offices. Otis has a 30% market share in fast-growing China, and is a primary supplier of elevators in many of China's new residential and commercial high-rise developments.
Otis is part of a huge, well-diversified American conglomerate United Technologies Corp (UTX on NYSE). With some $50 billion in annual sales, UTX may be worth a look for investors looking for a world trade leader from America's military-industrial complex.
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