Kingdom Tower, the world's tallest tower, located in northern Jeddah, has reached an important milestone in the project that will set another new world record - the world's tallest construction crane. The singularly soaring skyscraper that will ultimately earn the accolade of world's tallest building, with a height of more than 1 kilometer, demands equally unique construction equipment, methods and materials, including the custom-built cranes supplied by Germany's Liebherr & WolffKran. The enormous yellow lifting devices, known as climbing cranes are designed to accompany the tower's growth both externally and internally, in the latter case utilizing any of the building's 65 interior elevator shafts to make the climb. The largest of the six cranes Liebherr type 357 HC-L can lift up to 18 tons at a speed of 44 meters/minute, with heights to parallel that of the tower. The cranes are attached to the body of the building but sits atop a phenomenally narrow tower support of only 2.4 meters X 2.45 meters. But it is not just the size that makes these new cranes unique. They feature the latest in heavy-lifting technology that will allow them to withstand harsh weather conditions, in particular, the strong winds that can sweep across the spectacular heights at which the cranes will ultimately be deployed. To operate this type of cranes, special highly experienced and certified operators will be hired. With the tower's foundation now in place, vertical, above-ground construction commenced in September. Plans call for the first ten floors to be completed by the end of the year. The Kingdom Tower features 170 stories, seven stories of which will be allocated for the five-star Four Seasons Hotel offering 200 rooms and 121 luxury serviced apartments, and seven stories for offices. The tower will also have 61 stories that include 318 housing units of various types' amenities, gyms, spas, cafes and restaurants, two sky lobbies and world's highest observation decks, located on the 644 meter-height, enabling visitors to view Jeddah and the Red Sea from high in the sky.

The world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge opened in Sochi National Park, Russia. It's not really meant to serve your daily commute, though - the bridge is part of the Sochi Skypark. The 439-meters-long bridge was built over a 218 meters chasm and it attracts bungee jumpers and sightseers alike. The Sochi Skypark Bridge was developed in collaboration with New Zealand, and it took 5 years, 740 tons of metal and 2,000 cubic meters of concrete to construct. The bridge and the bungee platform are suspended by 8 cables - each of which is rated to hold 300 tons. Those who have the opportunity to visit Sochi can take a stroll along the huge structure overlooking roads, rivers and mountains 218 meters below. Those that feel more adventurous can get in line for a bungee jumping experience - there are several different points on the bridge from which to jump.

A luxury villa in Majorca where Diana, Princess of Wales once stayed has been put on the market for US$ 52 million, making it the most expensive property on the island. Castillo Mallorca, located on its own private peninsula has been put up for sale by German-based real estate agents Engel and Voelkers. The 1,400-square meter property is about 20 minutes from Majorca's capital Palma de Mallorca. The villa includes a sauna, gym, piano lounge and billiards room. The main house - there is also a guest house - contains a "Lady Diana" suite which is where the princess stayed. Guest houses, a swimming pool, gardens and terraces also feature in 6,000 square meters of land. Despite Castillo Mallorca's heavy price tag the agents handing the property are pretty confident about a sale. There had already been interest from Chinese, Swiss and Spanish buyers, he added. "This is a unique property in a unique location and we think the current German owner will get something very close to the asking price," a spokesperson for Engel and Voelkers told The Local.

Dubai is already home to the biggest shopping mall in the world, but that apparently isn't enough. Dubai has just unveiled plans for the world's largest temperature-controlled pedestrian city, the Mall of the World. To be completed in time for the World Expo 2020, the 4.5 million square meters mega development will include the world's largest shopping mall, the world's largest indoor theme park, and a 280 thousand square meters wellness center catering to medical tourists. It will be located right across the street from the 223 thousand square meters Mall of the Emirates. Dubai Holding will need US$ 6.8 billion to build an entertainment district. While the impending Expo 2020 undoubtedly gives a timeline to the project, in unveiling the plans His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum commented: "We announced recently that we plan to transform Dubai into a cultural, tourist and economic hub for the two billion people living in the region around us; and we are determined to achieve our vision." It is estimated that the Mall of the World will be a draw card for 180 million visitors per year. The project will be completed in stages, "in alignment with the gradual growth of family tourism in Dubai." The project's "highlights" include the world's largest mall at 743 thousand square meters, connected to 100 hotels and serviced apartment buildings totaling 20,000 hotel rooms. The shopping mall will be a temperature-controlled, covered retail street network spreading over 7 kilometers and modeled on Rodeo Drive and London's Oxford Street. It will also include The Celebration Walk, which is based on La Rambla in Barcelona. The development also includes the largest indoor family theme park in the world, which will be covered by a glass dome that can be opened in the milder winter months. There will also be a cultural district based on Broadway, with a 15,000-person capacity "celebration center," to be Dubai's largest.

CDL's Tree House in Singapore just set a new Guinness World Record with the world's largest vertical garden. The building's green wall measures 2289 square meters and is expected to save more than US$ 500 thousand in energy and water costs annually. Located in a quiet corner of Singapore's District 23, Tree House is a 24-storey condo building that boasts the world's largest vertical garden and features state-of-the-art sustainable technologies and elements such as heat-reducing windows and motion sensors that automatically activate lights. The vertical garden will reduce the estate's carbon footprint by filtering pollutants and carbon dioxide out of the air. The green exterior wall will reduce heat absorption, which could result in energy savings of between 15 and 30 percent. The developer, City Developments Limited (CDL) won the tender for the site in August 2009 and the project was completed in 2013.