World's second tallest building, 11 metres shorter than Burj Khalifa, featuring a clock claimed to be the largest in the globe will be open to the public from June this year in the holy city of Mecca.
The Mecca Royal Clock Tower, an under-construction hotel complex in Saudi Arabia has a clock six times bigger than the famous Big Ben in London, general manager Mohammed al-Arkubi said here yesterday.
The tower is made up of 662 metres of concrete structure and a 155-metre crescent-topped metal spire, he said.
Combined, the two parts of the tower will be only roughly 11 metres shorter than Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower at 828 metres.
Even the concrete section of the Mecca Royal Clock Tower would be taller than the current second-tallest building in the world, the 508-meter (1,676-foot) Taipei 101 in Taiwan.
"The first part of the hotel will open at the end of June, while the clock will begin operating at the end of July," ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, which is expected to begin around August 10, Arkubi said.
The German-made clock, billed as "the largest in the world," will have 45-metre wide and 43-metre tall faces on all four sides of the tower, he said.
He added that it will be visible from 17 kilometres away at night and 11 to 12 kilometres away during the day.
"Putting Mecca time in the face of Greenwich Mean Time, this is the goal," Arkubi said.
He said the USD three billion, seven-tower complex of hotels, called Abraj al-Bayt Towers, will contain 3,000 rooms and suites, the majority of which will overlook the Grand Mosque, which Muslims face for daily prayers.
The complex is being constructed by the Bin Laden Group, a giant real estate firm, on behalf of the Saudi government, he said.
The complex will be managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts and its revenue will be placed in a "waqf" or Islamic trust, devoted to the development and maintenance of Muslim holy sites, Arkubi said.
