Taipei 101 to hand over World's Tallest Building title to Dubai Tower

Dec 29, 2009, 7:00 GMT

Taipei - Taipei 101 is to hand over the World's Tallest Building title to Dubai Tower next week, but the skyscraper's management said Tuesday that it still sees a bright future for Taiwan's landmark.

'We look at it (losing the title) calmly because it is natural that there will be taller buildings,' Taipei 101 spokesman Michael Liu said.

'As Taipei 101 is Taiwan's landmark and is still famous throughout Asia, we will continue to improve our operations and try to break other records,' he said by phone.

'Our targets for 2010 include making Taipei 101 the world's tallest green building, that is to meet all the energy-efficiency requirements, to break even, and to attract more tourists,' he said.

In 2009, it achieved 80 per cent office space rental and received 1.2 million visitors to its observation deck.

'We expect to achieve 100-per-cent office space rental after 2010, and expect steady growth in visitors as more Chinese tourists will visit Taiwan in the coming year,' Liu said.

Opened in 2004, Taipei 101 stands 508 metres from the ground level to the top of its spire. It has 101 floors above ground and five floors underground.

Taipei 101 holds three world records certified by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat: tallest to the structural top, tallest to the roof, and highest occupied floor.

But on January 4, it is it due to lose the World's Tallest Building title to the Dubai Tower when it opens in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, UAE vice president and prime minister and ruler of Dubai, is scheduled to inaugurate the Dubai Tower, which is estimated at more than 800 metres tall, but the exact height is kept secret.