DUBAI: Financial Crisis Delays Work On New Tallest Tower

[Purveyor]

(01-14) 08:52 PST DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) --

The developer of a skyscraper planned to be the world's tallest said Wednesday it is halting work on the project for a year as the Middle East's business and entertainment capital grapples with the financial crisis.

State-owned builder Nakheel's decision to shelve the landmark development — which it unveiled only in October — came as a leading credit rating firm warned that falling real estate prices will likely hurt banks in Dubai and elsewhere in the United Arab Emirates.

Home values in the emirate tumbled 8 percent in the last three months from the previous quarter, a report Tuesday said, marking what analysts say is the first such decline in years.

The halted skyscraper was planned to soar the length of more than 10 American football fields, and analysts had said its unveiling late last year showed a lot of confidence amid the souring global economy.

--CLIP--
Wednesday's disclosure is only the latest setback for the company. The developer last month cut 15 percent of its staff and said it was scaling back work on some of its ambitious island-building projects. It also delayed a much-publicized luxury hotel being built with Donald Trump.

A number of other developers have also scrambled to cope with the swift change in fortunes. Several real estate and construction companies have been laying off staff, and a new government-backed developer that unveiled a $95 billion project around the same time of the Nakheel Harbor launch recently said it was reviewing its plans now that "investor demands have changed."

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AP: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/01/14/financial/f050554S83.DTL

[amitten]

1. Oh, that is so so sad.

:nopity:

[anonymous171]

2. Dubai: The Capital of Conspicuous Consumption

Personally I hope the city burns to the ground. But that's just me.

[blm]

8. The Capitol of New World Order. As designed by the global fascists.

.

[Romulox]

3. Wonder if they can get some TARP money to finish it? nt

[Sultana]

4. Pssssst, they got 8 billion from Citi

[Romulox]

5. Not surprising. Didn't Citi also buy a Spanish company w/ $10 b of TARP money?

[dipsydoodle]

6. Such a shame

I think the base jumpers were looking forward to going off a mile high :

http://current.com/items/89546563/world_record_base_jump.htm

[SammyWinstonJack]

7. Yeah well...

:nopity:

[Dennis Donovan]

9. Nakheel just bought the QE2 (recently retired by Cunard)...

...and is planning to turn her into a convention center/hotel. I wonder if this has also been put on hold?

[Sultana]

10. How many hotel does a city need?

I think they have about 300 hotels as of now.

[Sultana]

11. They have plans to build a even taller one

:eyes: