Dubai: The Burj Dubai will be opened on January 4, 2010, coinciding with the accession to power of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The 160-plus storey structure is considered the world's tallest building.

Mohammad Ali Al Abbar, Chairman of Emaar real estate company said the company decided to launch the tower on this date as a gesture of gratitude towards Shaikh Mohammad, who is considered the builder of modern Dubai.

Burj Dubai became the tallest building in the world in just 1,276 days, with the help of more than 5,000 consultants and skilled construction workers.

Work on the Burj Dubai started in January 2004. The tower reached 100 levels in January 2007. A month later, it surpassed the Sears Tower in Chicago as the building with the most floors in the world.

Burj Dubai is now the world's tallest building and tallest man-made structure, having surpassed the height of the KVLY-TV mast in North Dakota, USA.

The Burj Dubai houses residences and commercial spaces, apart from Giorgio Armani's The Armani Hotel & Residences.

It also anchors Downtown Burj Dubai, a Dh73 billion mixed-use mega project, already a bustling community described as the new "heart of the city".

With input from WAM