Dubai became the second most-prolific city in the world to have completed skyscrapers in 2019, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat's (CTBUH) latest data.
The emirate saw the completion of nine buildings with a height of 200 meters or more. The Chinese city of Shenzhen topped again with 15 completions while New York City was ranked third, followed by Chongqing, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Bangkok, Busan, and Nanjing.
Overall, 126 buildings of at least 200 meters in height were completed worldwide in 2019, compared to 146 in 2018, a 13.7 percent decline.
The 77-floor Address Residence - Fountain Views III was the tallest building to be completed in Dubai this year, boasting a height of 332 meters.
The other buildings completed in 2019 were the 75-floor Noora Tower with a 307-meter height, the 60-storey Five Jumeirah Village (277m), the 60-storey The Address Residence Sky View Tower 1 (261m), the 64-storey Marina Gate II (258m), the 61-storey Visa Residence Downtown Dubai (238m), the 55-storey The Address Residence Sky View Tower 2 (237m), the 53-storey 1/JBR (220m) and the 48-storey Al Batha Tower (210m).
Tariq Qureishy, founder and CEO of MAD Group, said tall buildings are seen as monuments, helping the city in boosting tourism and improving its overall profile.
"All monuments are big attractions points from tourism perspective - whether it is the Empire State Building, Eiffel Tower or Petronas Towers, they're the ones which are most-recognized iconic structures of a country".
Qureshi noted that these skyscrapers may not be making money, but the clusters around them benefits the developers.
"For example, the Burj Khalifa's core is the cluster around it; the Burj may not be making the money, but developers make money from its cluster because the Burj view becomes one the most vital sellable points," he said, adding that "Dubai is a city of courage."
He said areas around the Expo 2020 site will also have mega-tall structures that will further improve the city's profile and the area itself.
Currently, Dubai is second with 89 skyscrapers with a height of 200 meters of more after the 92 towers in Shenzhen.
At the country level, according to CTBUH data, China completed 57 of these buildings, representing 45 percent of the total. The United States was again the second-most prolific country, with 14 completions, 11 percent of 2019's total.
It was followed by the UAE, with nine completions, down from 10 in 2018. The Middle East overall recorded 11 completions, down from 13 in 2018.
Malaysia and India were tied with seven completions, while the Philippines had five. In 2018, Malaysia also recorded seven completions, India had zero and the Philippines had one completion.
