World's Tallest Office Building Planned for Dubai

Calls for the world's tallest office building have been made in Dubai, amid rising levels of city-wide vacancy rates.

Ahmed Bin Sulayem , chairman of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, claims there's still demand for office space, and that an attractive tall building will attract tenants and investors.

Many buildings in the Persian Gulf business hub are, Bin Sulayem says, unsuitable for large businesses.

The city's speculation-driven commercial property boom has seen the construction of thousands of office spaces that have proven unappealing to investors, because of design, location, or ownership. According to CBRE Group figures, 45% of the city's office space sits vacant.

"The crisis has shown us that well-designed and thought out developments will always hold value and demand. We will be running out of space and the world's tallest commercial tower will help attract more companies," Bin Sulayem said, despite the vacancy rate.

The skyscraper is, at this point, a long way from coming to fruition. A designer has yet to be selected, a contractor hasn't been commissioned, and financing hasn't been secured.

"We will go around and make sure that multinationals are aware of this building before we go to the rest," Bin Sulayem continued. "They tend to need large space, and plan expansion years in advance."

Matthew Green, head of United Arab Emirates research at CBRE, is less optimistic.

"Why the tallest tower?" he said. "It's going to be inefficient and there's no point in building an inefficient building in a great location. Corporate occupiers are not looking to spend fantastic amounts of money."

Bin Sulayem's ambitious project reflects those of many Dubai developers and politicians, with announced projects ranging from a Taj Mahal replica bigger than the original to the world's largest Ferris Wheel in the last year. Few if any details have been provided on how the plans will be financed.