Abraj Al Bait

Abraj Al-Bait Towers ( Mecca Royal Hotel Clock Tower ).mp4

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• published: 21 Sep 2011
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The tallest tower in the complex stands as the tallest building in Saudi Arabia, and the tallest and largest hotel in the world, with a height of 601 metres (1,972 feet). It is the fourth tallest building under construction. Upon its official opening the structure would have the largest floor area of any structure in the world with 1,500,000 m2 (16,150,000 sq ft) of floorspace. This is the same as Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport, in the United Arab Emirates which is also under construction. It will also surpass the Emirates Park Towers in Dubai as the world's tallest hotel. The site of the complex is located across the street to the south from an entrance to the Masjid al Haram mosque, which houses the Kaaba. In order to start construction, the historic Ottoman Ajyad Fortress had to be first completely demolished. To accommodate worshipers visiting the Kaaba, the Abraj Al-Bait Towers will have a large prayer room capable of holding nearly ten thousand people. The tallest tower in the complex will also contain a seven-star hotel to help provide lodging for some of the millions of pilgrims that travel to Mecca annually to participate in hajj. In addition, the Abraj Al-Bait Towers will have a four-story shopping mall and a parking garage capable of holding over a thousand vehicles. Residential towers will house permanent residents while two heliports and a conference center are to accommodate business travelers. In total, up to 100,000 people could be housed inside the towers. The project will use clock faces for each side of the hotel tower. The highest residential floor will be at 450 metres (1,480 feet), just below the clocks. The clock faces will be 43 × 43 m (141 × 141 ft), the largest in the world. The roof of the clocks will be 530 metres (1,740 feet) above the ground, making them the world's most elevated architectural clocks. A 71 metres (233 feet) tall spire will be added on top of the clock giving it a total height of 601 metres (1,972 feet), which will make it the second tallest building in the world when completed, surpassing Taipei 101 in Taiwan. The tower's crescent began construction in June 2011. The tower will also include an Islamic Museum and a Lunar Observation Center which will also be used to sight the moon during the holy months.[3] The complex is being built by the Saudi Binladin Group, Saudi Arabia's largest construction company. The clock tower is being designed by the German company Premiere Composite Technologies, the clock by the Swiss engineering firm Straintec.[4] According to the Saudi Ministry of Religious Endowments, the project will cost $800 million.[5 Aadil Mughal, Jaffer Mughal , Sikandar Bhatti, Rana Sohail