Burj Dubai core reaches 430 m

The Burj Dubai's reinforced-concrete core has now reached the 123rd storey, making the iconic structure just over 430 m high.

According to a project insider this leaves just 33 storeys left to go before the core is topped with a steel pinnacle.

This will determine the building's final height, currently expected to be about 610 m. This is well below the 800 m first mooted by developer Emaar, said the source.

Despite this, formwork manufacturer Doka's project manager Martin Hoerlesberger told iC, “We are slightly ahead of schedule as far as the concrete core goes. While everyone knows about the difficulties with sourcing the cladding and some of the other suppliers, it's been great to work on one of the elements that is actually ahead of schedule, and we expect to finish sometime in autumn this year.”

Cladding has been delayed for almost a year after the original supplier, Schmidlin Façade Technology, went bankrupt. Despite the subsequent delay, Emaar said it expects the tower to be completed on schedule in late 2008.