World's tallest building is now Burj Khafia

Dubai, Jan 5: In a surprise move Dubai rechristened the world's tallest building, known as Burj Dubai until its opening on Monday, Jan 4, to Burj Khafia after the president of United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa.

Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammad took the decision as a way to pay tribute to the ruler who came to the rescue of Dubai, which was reeling under the debt crisis in Nov-Dec 2009.

The metal and glass skyscraper's height, which was kept a secret till its formal unveiling, was revealed to be 828 metres (2717 feet), twice the height of New York's Empire State building.

The 'vertical city' of luxury apartments and offices, boasts of four swimming pools, a private library and a hotel designed by Giorgio Armani.

The developers have expressed confidence on the safety and stability of the building.

With this 1.5 billion dollar tapering tower, Dubai hopes to win back the confidence of the investors, which was shaken after the state-owned conglomerate Dubai World announced that it could not repay 60 billion dollars in loans in Nov 2009.

OneIndia News