Revealed: Plans to build the world's tallest building at 1km high



High times: An artist's impressionof a new sky scraper in Dubai that, when built, could become the world's tallest building

Plans to construct what could become the world's tallest building, at more than 1km high, were unveiled today.



Dubai developer Nakheel - the company that created man-made islands in the shapes of a palm tree and the world - said the structure will be the centre-piece of an inner-city harbour set to become the emirate's new, unofficial capital.



It would not comment on exactly how high or how expensive the Islamic design-inspired Nakheel Tower will be. The building will have "more than 200 floors" and be part of "a multi-billion pound development", the company said.



But "tallest building" claims are notoriously difficult to make. Debates about what counts as a candidate include whether buildings under construction should be considered and whether roof-top antennas count.



What is certain is that the tower will climb above what is said to be current holder of the "world's tallest building" position - the emirate's own Burj Dubai.



Speaking at a press conference today, a cautious Nakheel chief executive officer, Christopher O'Donnell, said: "From our perspective, we are building a tower that's going to be over 1km in height. This is a complete iconic development. It may be the tallest. Someone may build something taller."

Hollywood power couple Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas also attended the press conference.



The Nakheel Tower will have around 150 lifts and be built with some 500,000m3 of concrete. If the reinforcing bars planned were laid end to end, they would stretch from Dubai to New York.



The building will have enough cooling capacity to air-condition more than 14,000 modern homes.



It will be so tall that it experiences five different microclimatic conditions over its height. The temperature in the atmosphere at the top of the building could be as much as 10 degrees cooler than the bottom.



Planned high speed shuttle lifts will allow people to see the sunset twice - from the bottom and again from the top of the building.

Giant ambition: The structure will be the centre-piece of an inner-city harbour set to become the emirate's new, unofficial capital

The Burj Dubai was, until the new plans were announced, the world's tallest building. It will have ten years to enjoy the title before the Nakheel tower is completed

Asked if Nakheel was concerned about embarking on such a development during a banking crisis, Mr O'Donnell said: "It was always going to be a project that would take 10 years-plus. When you go about trying to fund a project like this, you have to take account of the economic cycles."



The tower and harbour project will take more than 10 years to complete.



Catherine Zeta-Jones looks on during the presentation of the Nakheel Harbour & Tower project

Apart from the landmark structure, there will also be another 40 towers, ranging in height from 20 floors to 90 floors. The entire development will be home to more than 55,000 people and a work place for more than 45,000 people.

Nakheel executive chairman, His Excellency Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, said: "There is nothing like it in Dubai.



"Nakheel Harbour and Tower is located in the heart of 'new Dubai', where we have focused on creating a true community, a location for living, working, relaxing and entertaining, for art and culture.



"All of this is concentrated in one area."



Nakheem said the designs of the planned harbour and tower were inspired by landmarks of Islamic design - including the gardens of Alhambra in Spain, the harbour of Alexandria in Egypt, the promenade of Tangier in Morocco and the bridges of Isfahan in Iran.



"With the Islamic influences governing its design, Nakheel Tower has been able to reach its height of more than a kilometre," said His Excellency.



"This inspired approach has enabled us to achieve a number of amazing feats of engineering, for example the tower will be the world's tallest concrete structure."

Nakheel's other developments in Dubai include the Palm Jumeirah and The World - man-made island communities for the wealthy.