Emaar’s redesigned Creek Tower is unlikely to be the tallest structure in Dubai, revealed founder Mohamed Alabbar.

Alabbar said work on the building’s design is ongoing. “A lot of work is still going on the redesign, I’m not sure it will be the tallest tower in Dubai. We have to always look at our bottom line and deliver value to our customers and our shareholders,” he said.

The tower, originally designed to be tethered to the ground with cables and 100m taller than Burj Khalifa, was meant to be the centrepiece of the Dubai Creek Harbour development. Work on the project was paused due to the pandemic after foundations were laid in 2017.

“There is not a set timescale for this, I have to be happy with the redesigns,” added Alabbar.

‘Redesign phase’

In August 2023, Emaar Properties founder Alabbar disclosed that the project would be heading into a redesign phase.

Following a competition that attracted involvement from various distinguished international firms, Emaar — in collaboration with the selected international firm — aimed to cultivate a fresh concept for the project over the next seven to eight months.

“We hope to start construction within a year from now,” Alabbar had told Emirates News Agency (WAM) in August.

Emaar Properties, one of the UAE’s leading real estate developers, “intends to deliver 45 towers including 15,000 apartments in 2023,” Alabbar said at the time.

Where Dubai Creek Tower stands

In 2018, concrete placement work for Dubai Creek Tower’s pile cap was completed two months ahead of schedule.

A 20m-thick, multi-layered pile cap was developed for the $1bn (AED3.67bn) tower, which is part of the 6km2 Dubai Creek Harbour master development.

The pile covers and transfers the load to the foundation barrettes.

Following the completion of this element, 50,000m3 of concrete was poured for the project, weighing 120,000t.

Up to 16,000t of steel reinforcement, twice the weight of Eiffel Tower, was also placed for the tower.

Previously, BMT, an international design, engineering and risk management consultancy, announced that it had taken the Emaar Properties project “to 100% design development” in February 2018.

BMT said its wind engineering experts had also completed aerodynamic shape optimisation studies, wind loading analyses, and façade wind pressure assessments for the project.

Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava, led the project’s original design and engineering works. Construction on the tower was suspended during the pandemic.

Design challenges

In 2019, China State Engineering and Construction Middle East (CSCEC ME) told Construction Week that the Chinese state-owned contractor was “actively involved” in and hoped to win the tender process for construction of the tower, valued at $1bn. Yu Tao, the chief executive officer of CSCEC ME, explained that the super-tall tower was “by nature” an interesting scheme given its height.

“Ordinary construction equipment is not able to take [on] this kind of challenge. For super-high rises, the most difficult part is the vertical transportation. If you cannot supply material and send the resources to such a high level, you cannot deliver [the project].”

For this reason, Dubai Creek Tower was originally designed to be reinforced by a group of stay cables, known for their application on bridge projects.