More delays rumoured for Burj Dubai

Local media in Dubai, UAE report that the world's tallest building, the Burj Dubai, may not be completed on schedule. It is due to open on 9 September, to coincide with the opening of the Dubai metro, but up to three months of more delays are now expected.

Quoting an unnamed source within the Arabtec/Besix/Samsung contracting consortium, local papers say there is still work to do both internally and externally on the tower. It has also been speculated that the tower might be extended from its current 818 m by up to another 70 m.

Construction of the Burj Dubai began in 2004, and it has been hit by a series of delays. It was originally scheduled for completion by the end of 2008, and when this deadline looked threatened at the start of last year, the client, property developer Emaar, announced an accelerated schedule to bring the programme back on track. However, further problems and the impact of the global economic recession saw the schedule pushed back.

Delays to the project have been caused by a variety of issues, including labour disputes and problems with some of the internal finishes.