Just five days before the opening of the world's tallest skyscraper in Dubai, organizers were informed of the shock decision to rename the building after the ruler of Abu Dhabi. For five years, as the project climbed toward its ultimate height of 2,732 feet, it was known as the Burj Dubai. But Dubai's ruler, who took a personal interest in what was to be the ultimate symbol of the city-state's independence, has made the very public sacrifice of naming the tower after his cousin, Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The newly named Burj Khalifa is now a symbol of Dubai's loss of independence. But by swallowing his pride, Dubai's Sheik Mohammed may have guaranteed his emirate's economic future, and given anxious investors owed more than $80 billion by the city-state reason to breathe easier. Dubai came close to default last month until Abu Dhabi stepped in with a $10 billion bailout. Bankers are being asked to agree to a standstill on $22 billion of debt owed by government-owned conglomerate Dubai World.
Now, Dubai seems to have acknowledged reality: The United Arab Emirates is one country, dependent on Abu Dhabi and its vast oil wealth. Investors must hope that Sheik Khalifa, in allowing his name to be attached to the new tower, also has acknowledged Abu Dhabi's new reality, and that his support for his troubled neighbor is now nailed down.END
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