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19 March 2024

Dubai's skyline: Four towers you may miss

Nakheel Tower, planned at the intersection of Sheikh Zayed Road and the Arabian Canal. (Supplied)

Published
By Parag Deulgaonkar

Dubai’s skyline is ranked among the best in the world, but four tall towers, had they not been put on hold due to the global financial crisis, would have transformed the emirate’s horizon.

A new report by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) states that 50 buildings of 150 meter or taller are currently on hold world over (i.e. construction had started and stopped, but is planned to resume).

The Pentominium

“Without big dreams, there would be no tall buildings. Conceiving, financing, designing, and constructing a skyscraper is no simple feat, even under the best of conditions,” says the report, adding, “Many projects have had torturously slow gestation periods; many more have failed to start or were interrupted and cancelled.”

Among the towers mentioned in the report are Nakheel Tower, an over a kilometre high, the Pentominium (516 metre), Burj Al Alam (510 metre) and Lighthouse Tower (432 metres).

Burj Al Alam

In a remark on the Nakheel Tower, planned at the intersection of Sheikh Zayed Road and the Arabian Canal, the council states: “It is remembered for its innovative design that included four continual vertical wind slots along the height of the tower.”

Emirates 24|7 reported in March that Trident International Holdings, the developer, was in talks with the Dubai Land Department (DLD) to restart work on the Pentominium in Dubai Marina. However, no work has yet commenced on the project.

The Lighthouse Tower

The $1 billion Burj Al Alam by Fortune Group in Business Bay has been canceled and is under liquidation, according to a DLD statement.

The Lighthouse Tower, planned in Dubai International Financial Centre, was to be the first low-carbon building in the emirate. The tower has been canceled with DIFC unveiling a new plan for its undeveloped land bank in October 2013.

Read: DIFC evolving from Dubai's financial district into 'unique community'

The CTBUH report adds that a building is considered to be “never completed” means where site works had begun, but were completely halted, and no reports indicate that construction will continue. The site may go on to accommodate a new building, different to the original design, that may or may not retain the original construction.

Emirates 24|7 reported earlier that 42 projects worth over Dh10 billion have been restarted under Dubai government’s real estate initiatives with 158 projects planned to be revived.
Read: Dubai restarts 43 projects worth over Dh10 billion

DLD mulling revival of 158 Dubai property projects

Currently, Dubai developers are currently working on building the world’s largest mall and the worlds’ tallest commercial tower.