The tower designed by Spain’s Santiago Calatrava Valls that will be the centre piece of Emaar Properties’ Dubai Creek Harbour development will be taller than the 828-metre tall Burj Khalifa.

"It will be a notch taller than the Burj Khalifa," said Emaar Properties chairman Mohamed Alabbar speaking at a briefing at the Dubai Creek Harbour site on 10 April.

Alabbar added that the building will cost about $1bn to construct and will be completed in time for the Expo. “It is a small thing between us and our partners as a gift to 2020,” said Alabbar.

Calatrava said the record-breaking tower comprises three key components: the foundations, the slip-formed concrete core, and a steel frame structure sitting on top of the core connected to the ground by cables. To expedite the construction, the steel frame can be fabricated as work on the core proceeds.

Alabbar said the upper levels will have 18-20 useable floors that will include observation decks, function rooms and a hotel.

Work on the foundations package is expected to start in June or July and contractors say the substructure will take about a year to complete.

Tendering for the superstructure will start once work on the foundations has begun. Sources close to the project say that the core, and the steel frame and cables are likely to be let as one main construction package.

An expression of interest has not yet been released, but companies that have worked for Emaar on high-rise projects before include: Lebanon's Arabian Construction Company (ACC), the local/Belgian Bel Hasa Six Construct, Canada's Brookfield Multiplex, and South Korea's Samsung C+T.

The appointment of Calatrava to design the building was approved by Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum on 6 February.

Progress is being made on other elements of the Dubai Creek Harbour scheme. Earlier this year, Emaar awarded the local Al-Basti & Muktha (ABM) a contract to build its Dubai Creek Residences development in Dubai. It has also appointed UK-based Faithful+Gould as the programme manager for the development.