世界最高建築"迪拜塔"今日落成揭幕
Started at the height of the economic boom and built by some 12,000 laborers, the world's tallest building is to open today in Dubai as the glitzy emirate seeks to rekindle optimism after its financial crisis.
Burj Dubai, whose opening has been delayed twice since construction began in 2004, will mark another milestone for the deeply indebted emirate with a penchant for seeking new records.
Dubai, one of seven members of the United Arab Emirates, gained a reputation for excess with the creation of man-made islands shaped like palms and an indoor ski slope in the desert.
With investor confidence in Dubai badly bruised by the emirate's announcement in November that it would seek a debt standstill for one of its largest conglomerates, the Burj Dubai is seen as a positive start to the year after a bleak 2009.
The project has been scrutinized by human rights groups, who have objected to its treatment of laborers, as well as by environmentalists who said the tower would act as a power vacuum, increasing the city's already massive carbon footprint.
But despite the criticism, many say the edifice, believed to have cost $1.5 billion to build, is an architectural marvel.
The tower's height has been kept a closely guarded secret until now. Developer Emaar Properties PJSC will reveal the height -- known to exceed 800 meters (2,625 feet) -- on Tuesday and Dubai's ruler will inaugurate the opening.
Experts believe Dubai's recent financial troubles have not hurt sales of approximately 1,100 residential units in the Burj -- meaning tower in Arabic -- saying they were nearly all sold.
Dubai's real estate sector crashed at the end of 2008 when the global financial crisis hit the emirate after a six-year economic boom. Thousands of jobs were slashed and projects worth billions of dollars were canceled or delayed.
With analysts suggesting tax-free Dubai might sell some of its assets to boost revenues and slash $80 billion in debt, many wondered if the tower was on the list for grabs.
Dubai, with few natural resources of its own, expects a budget deficit of 2 percent of GDP this year.
In December, the emirate received a $10 billion lifeline from neighboring Abu Dhabi to repay a $4.1 billion bond for Nakheel, a property arm of indebted Dubai World, and other obligations.
世界最高建築“迪拜塔”於今日落成揭幕，這座高樓於經濟鼎盛時期動工，約1.2萬名工人蔘與建造，飽受債務危機之苦的迪拜酋長國希望能借此機會揚眉吐氣。
迪拜塔於2004年動工，其揭幕日期兩次延後。這座建築有望打破世界最高建築紀錄，爲深陷債務危機的迪拜開創一個新的里程碑。
迪拜是阿聯酋七個酋長國之一，擁有人工修建的“棕櫚島”以及位於沙漠中的室內滑雪場，讓其名噪一時。
2009年11月，迪拜宣佈對其最大的一家集團公司暫停償債，使投資者信心遭到重創。在這種情況下，迪拜塔的落成被視爲黯淡的2009年過後迎接新年的良好開端。
該工程的建造曾受到人權組織的非議，稱參與建築的工人受到不公正待遇；環境保護主義者也曾批評迪拜塔耗能過度，將加劇該城市原本已經很龐大的碳足跡。
但儘管爭議不斷，仍有很多人認爲，這座據稱耗資15億美元的摩天大樓是一項建築奇蹟。
直至今日，迪拜塔的“身高”仍是個祕密。開發商艾馬爾地產公司將於本週二揭開這一謎底，據稱塔高超過800米（2625英尺）。迪拜酋長將主持落成儀式。
專家認爲，迪拜最近的債務危機並未影響到迪拜塔的銷售，樓內近1100套住宅幾乎售罄。在阿拉伯語中，Burj意爲“高塔”。
2008年末，在全球經濟危機的重創之下，經歷了六年經濟繁盛期的迪拜的房地產業崩潰。成千上萬的工作機會被削減，價值數十億美元的項目被迫取消或延期。
分析人士稱，被稱爲“免稅天堂”的迪拜或許將出售部分資產來增加收入，削減800億美元的債務，因此很多人懷疑這座高塔是否被列入出售清單。
迪拜酋長國今年的預算赤字預計將佔國內生產總值的2%。該國自然資源匱乏。
去年12月，迪拜從其鄰國阿布扎比獲得100億美元的資金援助，用於支付Nakhee公司所應償還的41億美元的到期債券及其它債務。Nakheel公司是受債務危機困擾的“迪拜世界”旗下的房地產公司。
Vocabulary:
rekindle：to revive or renew（重新點燃）
penchant：a strong inclination, taste, or liking for something（強烈的傾向，趣味）
edifice：a building, esp. one of large size or imposing appearance（大廈，大建築物）
tax-free：not subject to taxation; tax-exempt（免稅的，無稅的）
