World’s largest tower Burj Khalifa
French specialist climber Alain Robert succeeded in conquering the world’s tallest tower, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa on Monday night, completing the 828m climb in around six-hours.
Robert (known as the French Spiderman) began the climb at 6pm and reached the top of the spire of the building just after midnight. Thousands of spectators gathered to watch Robert reach the tower’s tallest point.
Known for climbing unassisted, Robert agreed to use a harness as stipulated by officials prior to the climb. He also used climbing equipment to scramble up the tower’s spire as there is nothing to grip on to on the sheer surface of the spire.
Robert was supposed to begin the climb at 4.30 pm, but the wind picked up in Dubai and delayed the start of the climb.
The Burj is the latest in a long line of famous structures conquered by Robert. He has already scaled over 100 skyscrapers and structures including the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House and Taipei 101. He was arrested and fined after climbing the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1997, and has since gone on to climb the Willis Tower, in Chicago, One Canada Square in London, and was arrested and expelled from China for scaling the Jin Mao building in Shanghai.
- Burj Khalifa.
Dubai – Crowds of people gathered on the Dubai Mall Boulevard faced great disappointment as rumours circulated Alain Robert (the French Spiderman) would not climb Burj Khalifa due to windy conditions.
Yet at 6.10 pm on Monday evening Robert took his first foothold on the world’s tallest tower with one aim — to reach the top.
Half an hour later VIPs and dignitaries took their seats at Burj Island Park in downtown Dubai for the opening ceremony of the tenth annual Education Without Borders (EWB) conference as Robert reached nearly halfway up the tower and stopped for the first of three rests.
Almost half an hour later he resumed his ascent in darkness under spotlight as the night turned chilly and the wind increased.
Robert’s climb of the 828 metre tower was to inspire over 2.000 students who descended on Dubai on Monday for the three day EWB conference being hosted by the Higher Colleges of Technology.
Dubai-based Emaar Properties (builder of the world’s largest tower Burj Khalifa) said that it is approving a 10 per cent cash dividend for 2010.
Emaar’s board had originally planned to withold a dividend for the past year, but after a heated debate at a shareholders’ meeting on Monday, Emaar Chairman Mohammed Alabbar agreed to a 10 per cent dividend.
A company spokesman said the cash dividend was worth a total of Dh610 million – $166.1 million.
The biggest developer in the United Arab Emirates by market value posted a 62 per cent drop in fourth-quarter earnings, hit by a writedown of assets and impairments in its financial portfolio.
Dubai house prices are set to drop another 10 per cent and Abu Dhabi’s by 15 per cent over the next two years as new units are released onto a market awash with supply.
Dubai’s property boom collapsed by the end of 2008 when it was hit by the global financial crisis and the Gulf state’s debt crisis.