The world's tallest skyscraper has unexpectedly closed to the public a month after its lavish opening, disappointing tourists headed for the observation deck and casting doubt over plans to welcome its first permanent occupants in the coming weeks.
Electrical problems are at least partly to blame for the closure of the Burj Khalifa's viewing platform - the only part of the half-mile high tower open yet. But a lack of information from the spire's owner left it unclear whether the rest of the largely empty building - including dozens of elevators meant to whisk visitors to the tower's more than 160 floors - was affected by the shutdown.
The indefinite closure, which began Sunday, comes as Dubai struggles to revive its international image as a cutting-edge Arab metropolis amid nagging questions about its financial health.
The Persian Gulf city-state had hoped the 2,717-foot (828-meter) Burj Khalifa would be a major tourist draw. Dubai has promoted itself by wowing visitors with over-the-top attractions such as the Burj, which juts like a silvery needle out of the desert and can be seen from miles around.
In recent weeks, thousands of tourists have lined up for the chance to buy tickets for viewing times often days in advance that cost more than $27 apiece. Now many of those would-be visitors, such as Wayne Boyes, a tourist from near Manchester, England, must get back in line for refunds.
"It's just very disappointing," said Boyes, 40, who showed up at the Burj's entrance Monday with a ticket for an afternoon time slot only to be told the viewing platform was closed. "The tower was one of my main reasons for coming here," he said.
The precise cause of the $1.5 billion Dubai skyscraper's temporary shutdown remained unclear.
In a brief statement responding to questions, building owner Emaar Properties blamed the closure on "unexpected high traffic," but then suggested that electrical problems were also at fault.
"Technical issues with the power supply are being worked on by the main and subcontractors and the public will be informed upon completion," the company said, adding that it is "committed to the highest quality standards at Burj Khalifa."
Despite repeated requests, a spokeswoman for Emaar was unable to provide further details or rule out the possibility of foul play. Greg Sang, Emaar's director of projects and the man charged with coordinating the tower's construction, could not be reached. Construction workers at the base of the tower said they were unaware of any problems.
Power was reaching some parts of the building. Strobe lights warning aircraft flashed and a handful of floors were illuminated after nightfall.
Emaar did not say when the observation deck would reopen. Ticket sales agents were accepting bookings starting on Valentine's Day this Sunday, though one reached by The Associated Press could not confirm the building would reopen then.
Tourists affected by the closure are being offered the chance to rebook or receive refunds.
The shutdown comes at a sensitive time for Dubai. The city-state is facing a slump in tourism - which accounts for nearly a fifth of the local economy - while fending off negative publicity caused by more than $80 billion in debt it is struggling to repay.
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But suppose there had been no economic collapse. Suppose the Tower did not have to be named, as it did have to be named, after the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, who lent the money that got Abu Dhabi out of its last crisis, but may not be lending more for the next one. What did that Dubai tower mean? What does it tell us about the state of the Arabs and Muslims, in building a grand new civilization based on the fabulous sums they have taken in?
Consider who built the tower. The architect was German - or was he Austrian? The main contractor was, as so often in the Arab oil states, South Korean. The ordinary workmen were ill treated, essentially working under the conditions of slaves. Their wretched treatment, the miserable sums they receive from rapacious and cruel employers, who so often withhold sums or find ways to cheat those at that level, who cannot fight back and are hopelessly dependent, has been written about before. See, for example, the article by Johann Hari in "The Independent." The squalidness of the vulgar luxury, of which the Dubai authorities (and no doubt other Gulf Arabs) are so inordinately proud, is comical, an offense against good taste every which way one looks. That hasn't kept the kind of press that covers the Arab states from descending upon Dubai at intervals. These people are a little like the bought-and-paid-for movie reviewer who, after his latest junket, gives a glowing review to some obvious Hollywood trash. They ooh and ahh over Dubai's great achievements, which achievements consist entirely in the ability to take money and to put it into skyscrapers, which are supposed to then earn great respect.