Construction site

The construction site of the Burj, the centrepiece of the city development area of Downtown Dubai, lies about 5 m above half-tide level. The coastline is at a safe distance, the airport is about 4 km away, and the air corridors are to the side of the site.

In the close vicinity of the Burj are many other high-rise buildings – some of them still under construction. The nearest is at least 150 m away. The danger of falling construction material causing damage to third-party property is therefore relatively small, at least during the construction of the lower floors. The higher the structure grows, however, the greater the influence of the wind, and hence the greater the risk.

Additional dangers will emerge if business commences on the lower floors (hotel area) while construction work continues above. This would expose users of the lower floors, the contractor's third-party liability insurer, and the building owner to a greater risk. Besides personal injuries and property damage, business interruption losses must also be expected if, for example, utility lines are cut or if an accident occurs and the authorities close the construction site in order to investigate the causes.

Particularly in Asia, it is quite common to bring commissioning forward, since projects are often tightly calculated and new buildings need to be marketed as soon as possible.