Why are people surprised that Dubais superscraper makes history during these hard times?”
Burj Dubai, whose opening has been delayed twice since construction began in 2004, will mark another milestone for the deeply indebted emirate with a penchant for seeking new records. Dubai, one of seven members of the United Arab Emirates, gained a reputation for excess with the creation of man-made islands shaped like palms and an indoor ski slope in the desert. With investor confidence in Dubai badly bruised by the emirate’s announcement in November that it would seek a debt standstill for one of its largest conglomerates, the Burj Dubai is seen as a positive start to the year after a bleak 2009. The project has been scrutinized by human rights groups, who have objected to its treatment of laborers, as well as by environmentalists who said the tower would act as a power vacuum, increasing the city’s already massive carbon footprint. But despite the criticism, many say the edifice, believed to have cost $1.5 billion to build, is an architectural marvel. The tower’s height has been ke
