Dubai: It may not be the tallest, but on the cost of development, New York’s One World Trade Center takes top billing as the ‘World’s Most Expensive Skyscraper’. It cost $3.9 billion to build, according to data compiled by Emporis.
That development bill puts it well ahead of The Palazzo, the luxury hotel in Las Vegas, and London’s The Shard, both of which cost $1.9 billion to build.
Based on Emporis’ data, the Burj Khalifa cost $1.5 billion to top up, and which places it in fifth spot among the most expensive skyscrapers. Taipei 101 is in fourth spot, with a cost of $1.76 billion.
“The reasons for the immense costs of skyscrapers are varied in nature … With some buildings, it is known even at the planning stage that they will be cost-intensive, for instance in order to meet the latest environmental standards,” said a statement issued by Emporis. “Other projects, by contrast, become increasingly costly during construction itself due to unforeseen events or delays.
“The Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg unquestionably belongs in this latter category; the cost of the mixed-use concert hall, whose completion is now projected for 2016, run to a billion dollars so far, earning it, even now, eighth place in the list of the world’s most expensive skyscrapers.”
