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Dubai begins work on world?s tallest tower, overtaking the Burj Khalifa

The Burj Khalifa is 829.8 metres high. (Image source: Gordon/Flickr)

Dubai has began construction work on a tower that will stand higher than its Burj Khalifa, which is currently the worlds tallest skyscraper

UAE Vice-President and Ruler of Dubai HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum marked the groundbreaking of The Tower at Dubai Creek Harbour.

?The structure will be the world?s tallest tower when completed in 2020,? said a statement issued at the ceremony, according to an AFP report.

Dubai?s developer giant Emaar Properties announced plans to build the viewing tower in April, saying it will be ?a notch? higher than Burj Khalifa, which stands 829.8 metres high.

Emaar has not revealed the exact final height of the tower.

It had said in April that the structure will cost around US$1bn.

Designed by Spanish-Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava Valls, the tower will have observation decks providing 360? view of the coastal city.

Emaar chairman Mohamed Alabbar said that the tower will completed before the Expo 2020 trade fair which Dubai is preparing to host.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia?s Kingdom Holding is building a tower in Jeddah that is planned to surpass the Burj Khalifa, rising more than a kilometre.