The USD 1 billion Burj Al Alam, billed as the world's tallest commercial tower at 510 metres in 2006 in Dubai's Business Bay district, has been officially canceled.
"The project is canceled from Real Estate Regulatory Agency's (RERA) register and the case is with the liquidation committee of Dubai Courts," Dubai Land Department (DLD) said in an emailed statement. RERA is the regulatory arm of the DLD.
Fortune Group was developing Burj Al Alam, a proposed hyperboloid skyscraper, designed by Japan's Nikken Sikkei. On completion, the tower would resemble a crystal flower and have comprised 74 floors of office space, a hotel and serviced apartments on the top 27 floors and a retail area.
Media reports reveal that ground breaking of the canceled project took place on 12 November, 2006 and the tower was slated for completion in 2009. However, the project suffered due to the global financial crisis as investors defaulted and the project went on hold after the completion of the piling work.
A newspaper report in January 2009 said Samsung Engineering, Besix and Arabtec were believed to be in the final race for the contract. Satellite images, as of May 2013, disclosed the site to be refilled with sand.
The bond prospectus, released by the Dubai Government in March 2012, said 217 projects had been canceled as of May 31, 2011. Later, in the base prospectus, released on 17 January, 2013, RERA did not give the number of canceled projects, but said 253 projects were on hold with 232 projects likely to be completed in due course. Furthermore, each of these 253 registered projects was likely to qualify for either the Tayseer or the Tanmia project restarting initiatives.
© Zawya 2013
