DOWN a dusty road in the middle of a desert overlooking the Gulf, one of the most remarkable construction feats in history is taking place.

Billboards ensure that this point sinks in. “History Rising!” booms one advertisement on the way to the site — “the most prestigious square kilometre on the planet”. Another, promoting a shopping mall soon to come, screams “The Earth has a new centre!” next to a picture of a gorgeous, smiling brunette.

Burj Dubai Downtown is an extraordinary project. Its centrepiece is a 700-metre (2,300ft) skyscraper, the Burj Dubai, pictured right, that will be the tallest building in the world when completed in 2008. It will have more than 160 floors, double-decker lifts to maximise carrying potential and a swanky five-star hotel with rooms designed by Giorgio Armani.

There will also be “four luxurious swimming pools”, 15,000 sq ft of fitness facilities, and an observation deck expected to attract well over a million tourists a year. Around the base of the tower, the developer, a major Dubai construction company called Emaar, is constructing a 29acre lake, a huge shopping mall (the world’s largest, naturally), an aquarium (also the world’s largest, where scuba-diving will be a possibility), and an “old town”.

The last is being constructed without the tiniest hint of irony. Isn’t building an “old town” a bit unusual, I ask. A spokeswoman replies: “Absolutely not. In any city you have the old and the new.”

A total of 20,000 construction workers are employed on the skyscraper and surrounding projects, which include other smaller towers. A new floor is being built on Burj Dubai every three days. Work goes on around the clock. The tower was at level 67 during my visit and looked like an Aztec temple on steroids. Quite simply, the construction site is the largest in the world.

Adrian Smith, of Chicago-based Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, is the designer of the main tower; he also oversaw Canary Wharf. The design has a tapered, rocket shape with silver, mirrored glass. Pictures of the Burj Dubai are shown next to current skyscrapers such as the CN Tower in Toronto, 553m (1,814ft), Taipei 101, 508m (1,666ft), and the Empire State Building, 324m (1,062ft). They look tiddlers by comparison. The design is based on a twisty-looking desert plant called the spider lily as well as “patterns from traditional Islamic architecture”.

For people wanting a rather striking second home, or an unusual investment, there is a chance to buy one of 880 apartments, from £210,000 for a studio to £8.4 million for the best four-bedroom unit. Dubai changed its laws to allow foreigners to buy property recently. The showroom flat is bachelor-pad swish with parquet floors, lots of mirrors, wi-fi, security cameras at the door, flat-screen televisions, leather chaises longues, and fantastic views. Furnishings are not, however, included. And the service charge has yet to be set. Apartments in Burj Dubai are still available, but they’re going fast; 95 per cent of those launched have been sold. But there are 30,000 homes for sale in Burj Dubai Downtown, in 18 other towers around the lake. The total development is 22 million sq ft. And there will be “200 metres of dancing fountains”. A nice touch.

TOM CHESSHYRE

Hamptons International: 020-7758 8447 www.hamptons-int.com Dubai Property Centre: www.dubaipropertycentre.com

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