Burj Dubai: Record high

Dubai: Dubai's newest iconic tower, the Burj Dubai, has become the tallest building in the world at 512.1 metres, Emaar Properties announced on Saturday.

Burj Dubai, currently with 141 storeys, is now taller than Taipei 101 in Taiwan, which at 508 metres held the title as world's tallest building since it opened in 2004.

When it is completed in 2008, Burj Dubai will also be the tallest structure in the world in all four criteria listed by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

The council measures height to the structural top, the highest occupied floor, to the top of the roof, and to the tip of the antenna, mast or flag pole.

Burj Dubai became the tallest building in the world in just 1,276 days. Excavation work started in January, 2004.

During its construction, Burj Dubai left behind the skyscrapers that previously defined tall tower architecture around the world, such as Petronas Towers in Malaysia (452 metres); Sears Tower, Chicago (442 metres); Jin Mao Building, Shanghai (421 metres) and Empire State Building, New York (381 metres).

"Four years ago Burj Dubai was conceived by Emaar Properties as a 90-storey structure. It was the UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who inspired us to 'resist the usual' and build a global icon," said Mohamed Ali Alabbar, Chairman, Emaar Properties.

He said, "Burj Dubai is not just an architectural and engineering masterpiece in concrete, steel and glass. It is a human achievement without equal. Burj Dubai will inspire future generations to think beyond the ordinary and to challenge their mind and spirit."