Ahmed Bin Sulayem, the President of Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) wants to build the highest building in the world. He thinks that despite high vacancy rate, the city can still attract investors and tenants. The reason, according to him, is inadequate standard of existing facilities.
Ahmed Bin Sulayem was responsible for the 68-storey Almas Tower which was created in 2007 and was then the highest building in the world. He says that the whole space in the building is currently rented and there is a waiting list. The crisis has shown us that well-designed and -thought out developments will always hold value and demand. We will be running out of space and the world's tallest commercial tower will help attract more companies - says Ahmed Bin Sulayem.
Is he right? Property boom in Dubai left the city with many vacant office spaces. However, according to Jones Lang LaSalle companies which need more than 5000 square meters frequently cannot find it and decide to commission a building. CBRE on the other hand stresses that 45% of space in Dubai is vacant.
The highest building in the world would be at least 520 meters high. It would occupy a plot measuring 107 000 square meters. Bin Sulayem plans to sell some space and profit from renting the rest. The project would be completed in five years. The price? About a billion dollars. We will go around and make sure that multinationals are aware of this building before we go to the rest, Bin Sulayem said. They tend to need large space and plan expansion years in advance.
So far there is only the project of the building, a contractor hasn't been commissioned and the financing hasn't been secured yet, thus, it will be a long time before the construction works start. Funding will come from advance sales as well as loans and Islamic bonds.