Dubai opens world’s tallest building

Dubai has opened the world’s tallest building after a severe economic crisis forced the city to seek another bailout loan from Abu Dhabi.

The 160-plus-story Burj Dubai was inaugurated today with Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum leading a day of celebrations.

About 90 percent of the units at the building have been sold and its residents can have a view across the Persian Gulf to Iran, The Washington Post reported.

The residential, hotel and office building will host the first occupants of the Giorgio Armani residences in February 2010 and open the world’s first Armani Hotel in March.

Developed by the partially government-owned Emaar Properties, the skyscraper’s one-to-three-bedroom residences and its surrounding developments have held up in price amid the city’s 50 percent economic crash.

“It is a fantastic building and a great achievement for Emaar, but Dubai’s dreams and challenges remain greater than any one building,” said Dubai’s Shuaa Capital analyst Roy Cherry.

Despite the $10 billon bailout loan that Dubai received in mid-December, the city’s reputation as a global financial center still remains tarnished after the government-owned investment company Dubai World went bankrupt, leaving a $22 billion debt last year.