Construction began on 21 September 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009. The building officially opened on 4 January 2010, and is part of the new 2 km2 (490-acre) development called Downtown Dubai at the 'First Interchange' along Sheikh Zayed Road, near Dubai's main business district.
CLICK IMAGE TO VIEW FULL SCREEN
Burj Khalifa compared with some other well-known tall structures
Burj Khalifa (Arabic: برج خليفة, "Khalifa Tower"), known as Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the tallest man-made structure in the world, at 829.8 m (2,722 ft).
Thus, competing in the construction of tall buildings is one of the signs of the Day of Judgement. In a hadith recorded in Sahih Muslim, Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) told us that “you shall see barefoot, naked, penniless shepherds vying in constructing high buildings.” This hadith describes people who become rich all of a sudden and then build not for need but only in competition.