Lift failure blamed for Burj Khalifa closure



DUBAI // A faulty lift was revealed yesterday as a possible cause of the closure of the world's tallest building to visitors. A lift in the Burj Khalifa became stuck between floors on Saturday and the occupants were rescued unharmed, according to Abu Naseer, a spokesman for the Dubai Civil Defence. The public viewing area on the 124th floor has been closed since then. "There was an emergency on Saturday evening and 15 people were rescued when the lift got stuck between floor 124 and 125. It was opened halfway and we had them rescued within 30 minutes," said Mr Naseer.

"There was no smoke or fire or anything like that. It was very simple." News reports have quoted people who said they heard a bang and saw dust coming out of one of the elevator shafts. The operator of the 828-metre tower, Emaar, would not confirm an incident involving the lift yesterday and neither would the lift contractor, Otis. It is the second reported lift problem since the tower opened last month.

The At The Top observation deck was closed to the public until further notice on Sunday, little more than a month after it opened. Emaar blamed problems with the power supply for its sudden closure. Some ticket holders have been told by staff at the tower that it would reopen next Sunday and that they had the option to rebook their visits or claim a refund. Emaar, however, has not confirmed this. Visitors to the building's website, www.burjkhalifa.ae, are being told: "Please be advised that online tickets to At the Top are temporarily on hold due to maintenance at the attraction."

The faulty lift is one of 57 elevators in the tower that travel at a record-breaking 10 metres per second. Emaar has said the lifts have a capacity of 12 to 14 people. At the centre of Burj Khalifa's core is the main elevator, which has the world's tallest shaft at 504 metres. More than 75,000 workers from Otis were involved in the installation of the elevators and escalators in the tower. Five days after Burj Khalifa's official opening on January 4, 14 people got stuck in one of the elevators for an hour.

eharnan@thenational.ae

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

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Name: Younis Al Balooshi

Nationality: Emirati

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