Tall plans for Dubai, Uzbekistan and Morocco

78-Story Grande Tower Planned in Dubai’s Opera District

Emaar Properties and WSP have selected SSH as the architect for the 78-story Grande Tower in Dubai’s Opera District across from Burj Park and Burj Lake, MEConstructionNews.com reported. The tower will have 866 apartments of varying sizes, amenities and retail within a promenade level, and parking for residents and guests. An upper level will feature a swimming pool and a deck with views of Dubai Fountain. According to SSH, the structure’s curved footprint mimics the surrounding landscape. SSH Resident Director, U.A.E., Michael Byron said:

“The tower will be a significant addition to the downtown Dubai skyline and will become a contributing and symbolic landmark in the development of the Opera District.”

Uzbekistan Banks Fuel Multitower Project in Tashkent

Three of the largest banks in Uzbekistan are investors in the Tashkent City International Business Center (TCIBC) megaproject in the capital city and will transfer their headquarters to a trio of 26-, 33- and 28-story towers they are financing in TCIBC by 2022, Trend News Agency reported. With China’s Shanghai Construction Group at the helm, construction is expected to start in the first quarter of 2019. Involving eight separate lots and investors from Germany, Japan, South Korea and the U.K., TCIBC will have a 200-m-tall skyscraper by Japan’s Nihon Sekkei, France’s Bureau Veritas and DP Architects of Singapore; business centers; a European-style boulevard; and Ritz-Carlton and Hilton hotels.

Contract Awarded for Bank of Africa, Morocco’s Future Tallest

Brussels-based BESIX Group S.A., its subsidiary Six Construct and TGCC signed a contract in Dubai in October to build the Bank of Africa Tower, which, at 250 m tall, will be the tallest building in Morocco, BESIX announced. With a striking elliptical profile by architects Rafael de la Hoz and Hakim Benjelloun, the structure will house offices, a hotel and apartments and be designed to the highest international green-building standards. A viewing terrace is planned at the top. The building is part of a growing arts-and-culture district in Morocco and had been set to break ground in November, with completion anticipated in May 2022.