Almas Tower is a supertall skyscraper in JLT Free Zone Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Construction of the office building began in early 2005 and was completed in 2009 with the installation of some remaining cladding panels at the top of the tower. The building topped out at 360 m (1,180 ft) in 2008, and became the tallest building in Dubai, until 2010, when it was surpassed by Burj Khalifa. Almas Tower has 74 floors, 70 of which are commercial alongside four service floors.
The tower is located on its own artificial island in the
centre of the Jumeirah Lakes Towers Free Zone scheme, the tallest of all the
buildings on the development. It was designed by Atkins Middle East, who
designed most of the JLT Free Zone complex. The tower is was constructed by the
Taisei Corporation of Japan in a joint venture with ACC (Arabian Construction
Co.) who were awarded the contract by Nakheel Properties on 16 July 2005.
The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), the developer of
the tower, was the first to move in. The DMCC moved its corporate offices along
with the Dubai Diamond Exchange to the unfinished tower on 15 November 2008.
Almas Tower now houses facilities that provide a wide range of services for the
region’s diamond, coloured gemstones and pearls industry. Along with the Dubai
Diamond Exchange, these include the Dubai Gems Club, the Dubai Pearl Exchange,
the Kimberley Process Certification offices and access to secure transportation
agencies such as Brinks and Transguard, in addition to networking and meeting
rooms.[4] Diamond cutting and exchange take place at the tower. Due to the type
of transactions taking place at the tower, high security is installed. Almas
tower ranked 8th in the Emporis Skyscraper Award 2010