77 Story, $490 Million Skyscraper To Be Built In Dubai

Upon completion, the 369-meter tower will be the 26^th tallest building in the world and one of the top ten tallest buildings in the United Arab Emirates. Arabtech construction, the same company that built the Burj Khalifa, was awarded the contract on Wednesday to build the 23,000 square meter building.  The tower plans include 18 floors of office space, a 350-room hotel, 180 luxurious apartments, and 9,008 meters of retail space.  Construction will begin this month and is expected to be finished in May 2017.

The building is part of Dubai International Financial Center’s Master Plan that was unveiled at Cityscape Global in October.  The updated proposal demonstrates the progress the DIFC has made towards having a perfectly planned, three-zone city comprised of office, mix-use, and residential zones.  The Master Plan’s ultimate goal is to make Dubai into one of the most prestigious cities in the world. The plan was proposed by California Design Firm 5+design as a development proposal for the remaining 930 thousand square meters of space in the Financial District.  Renderings for the Master Plan can be see by clicking on the following link.  The skyscraper will be the first tower constructed in Dubai since the financial crisis began and is seen as a good economic sign for the UAE.

Sources: Business Insider.com, Ameinfo.com