Azrieli Group controlling shareholder David Azrieli laid the foundation stone on March 25 for the US$ 400 million Sarona Center, a single 200-meter, 50-story building in Tel Aviv's nascent southern Kirya business district, reported The Jerusalem Post. Azrieli Sarona will become Israel's largest office tower upon its scheduled completion in 2016, offering 125 thousand square meters of working space, a three-story, 11 thousand square meters mall and a seven-story underground parking lot for 1.6 thousand vehicles. It will be the country's second-tallest building, behind Ramat Gan's 244-meter, 68-story, multipurpose Moshe Aviv Tower. Azrieli Group purchased the land from the Israel Lands Authority for US$ 140 million last year. The building will be constructed at the eastern end of the Sarona compound near Menachem Begin Road and Kaplan Street, almost diagonally opposite the three existing Azrieli towers. Architect Moshe Zur teamed up with David Azrieli Architects Firm to design the building, using simple geometry to produce the effect that the entire building is facing the sea, which lies almost 3 kilometers to the west.

A symbol of Dubai's resurgence and its growing importance at the centre of the global business crossroads will emerge later this year when the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai opens its doors to guests in Q4 this year, reported the official site of Marriott Hotel. This hotel set to be the world's tallest. As reported, the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai will open in two phases, with the first section featuring 807 rooms and numerous restaurants and lounges. At a height of 355 meters, the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai is the tallest dedicated hotel building in the world and is just 26 meters shorter than the Empire State Building in New York. In addition to serving the luxury business traveler, the hotel is targeting the lucrative and increasingly important MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) market, which currently does not have a hotel of sufficient scale to host such large groups. In addition to all the dining and entertainment options, the hotel will have two ballrooms, 24 meeting rooms and a total of 5,100 square meters of event space. Currently the tallest dedicated hotel building in the world is Rose Rayhaan in Dubai. 72 storeys, 333 meters high and certified as the World's tallest hotel by Guinness Records hotel building opened its doors in 2010. But the world's highest hotel is Ritz-Carlton housed in 484 meters high International Commerce Center in Hong-Kong. It is situated on 102-118 floors. The JW Marriott is part of Marriott International's luxury portfolio and consists of beautiful properties in gateway cities and distinctive resort locations around the world. Currently, there are 53 JW Marriott hotels in 22 countries; by 2015 the portfolio will encompass 80 properties in 29 countries.

As announced by Tameer company, the main developer of project, Dubai's landmark Princess Tower has been completed, making it the world's tallest residential tower at a final height of 414 meters, reported The National. Construction of residential tower began in 2005. The Dubai Marina development stands at 107 storey and encompasses basement floors, a ground floor and 100 above-ground levels. In addition to penthouse apartments overlooking The Palm Jumeirah, The Princess Tower houses 763 luxury apartments, including one, two, three, four-bedroom apartments. According to experts, the tower will contribute to more than 3,100 new apartments are scheduled to hit the market in Dubai Marina in the early part of this year, putting further pressure on declining rents in the popular coastal district. As we earlier reported, UAE's property boom ended in 2008, with home prices drop in the Dubai by about 60 percent. The current tallest completed residential building in the world is The Torch, the 337-meter tower located a few blocks away from the Pentominium project in Dubai, which itself could surpass Princess Tower if it is ever completed to the 516 meters originally planned. That project has become bogged down in delays.

As reported by information agency APA, Azerbaijan plans to build the world's tallest tower within the framework of Caspian Island project. Initially, the height of Azerbaijan Tower planned to be 560 meters, but parameters were changed. The developer of Caspian Island Avesta concern decided that the high of 185 floors tower to be 1050 meters, and it will be commissioned in 2018-2019. According to another news agency The First News, the construction of Caspian Island in Azerbaijan, which will be erected on artificial made islands, has already started. This project will be built during 25 years. The 10 percent of the whole project is planned to complete in 2016. It should be noted, that the minimum cost for one square meter in this city will be about US$ 4.5 thousand. The new city will cover 30 thousand square meters area - 20 thousand for residential buildings, 10 thousand for retail stores, offices, stadiums, entertainment venues, race circuits for Formula 1 and Formula 2, etc. The developer plans to build the longest boulevard in the world with 150 kilometers length and the highest skyscraper with 1050 meters height in this city. There are no intersections planned in this city, so no need for traffic lights. The total budget of this project is estimated US$ 125 billion, and it will be funded by private investors. According to author, this project has no analogue in the world, as the city planned to be built on artificial island. However, the Baku experiment isn't unique and new. There are enough "island projects" in UAE and other countries. As BBC reported, according to Barclays Capital research, there is an "unhealthy correlation" between the building of skyscrapers and subsequent financial crashes. Often the world's tallest buildings are simply the edifice of a broader skyscraper building boom, reflecting a widespread misallocation of capital and an impending economic correction. Examples include the "Empire State building", built as the "Great Depression" was under way, and the current world's tallest, the "Burj Khalifa", built just before Dubai almost went bust. Today the world's tallest building is Burj Khalifa in United Arab Emirates (828 meters). UAE also planned to build 1400-meters tall "Nakheel tower", but its construction was delayed. The 1000-meters tall skyscraper is also planned to be built in Kuwait in City of Silk. Saudi Arabia also plans to build more than a kilometer high Kingdom tower in Jeddah. But now all this "oil country" projects are on the paper only, and a big question is - which one will take the Champion title from Dubai's Giant?

Construction is set to begin early this year on the European Extremely Large Telescope, a nearly US$ 1.4 billion project in Cerro Armazones, Chile, reported Constructiondigital. The instrument, which will be the world's largest ground-based optical telescope, will give sky enthusiasts and astronomers the world over an unprecedented view of the cosmos, allowing for the discovery of earth-like planets, insight into the mysteries surrounding dark matter and dark energy, and one of the deepest views into the known universe. The project, headed by the European Southern Observatory (ESO), will break ground early 2012 as crews prepare access roads to the remote site within Chile's Atacama Desert and begin preparation of the telescope's five mirrors. The primary mirror will measure a staggering 42 meters across - more than 30 meters larger than the Keck Observatory in Hawaii (10 meters). The telescope's incredible size will allow for 15 times more light collection than the biggest telescopes currently in operation. The ESO hopes to have the telescope operational within the next decade."The E-ELT is starting to become reality," said ESO Director General Tim de Zeeuw. "However, with a project of this size it is expected that approval of the extra expenditure will take time. Council at the same time recognizes that preparatory work must start now in order for the project to be ready for a full start of construction in 2012."