Dubai is famous for its towering skyscrapers, which create a city silhouette that attracts millions of tourists each year. It boasts the tallest building in the world, the 830-meter-tall Burj Khalifa, alongside Burj Azizi (665m), Princess Tower (413m), and a host of other architectural feats.

But one construction effort is still underway, with no sign of completion. Dubai Creek Tower is a proposed observation building construction which started in 2016. At that time, its cost was estimated to be $1 billion (£760 million) and the tower was set to be the tallest in the world at 1,300 metres, well surpassing Burj Khalifa.

Designed by the Spanish-Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava, known for the Allen Lambert Galleria in Toronto and the World Trade Center Transportation Hub in New York, the Dubai Creek Tower was expected to be completed by 2020.

Its design was inspired by the Islamic architectural tradition and referenced minarets, a type of tower usually built on or adjacent to mosques.

They are generally used to project the call to prayer and serve as landmarks and symbols of Islam’s presence.

The chairman of the development company, Emaar, described it as an “elegant monument.” It was slated to be a slim tower anchored by cables, with around 20 floors at the summit, including a luxury hotel, ten observation decks, and a sky garden.

Yet construction is still to be completed. It was paused around 2018 and formally postponed due to the pandemic.

By 2024, it was announced that construction would resume, but the design had been changed, and the height had been revised to be shorter than Burj Khalifa.

To date, though, it appears that the site has undergone little change and revised plans have yet to be published.

It is now unclear when or if the tower will take shape, as the foundations lie abandoned in the desert.

Some areas of the Dubai Creek development have been completed, with several residential buildings having sprung up.

The creek is a tidal inlet that runs around 9 miles (14km) into Dubai and forms a natural port for trade and transport.

Development of the creek began in the 1950s with dredging and the construction of breakwaters, while more than 13,000 ships now pass through every year.

Landmarks on the creek include the Deira Twin Towers, the National Bank of Dubai and the Chamber of Commerce.

Inspired by the curved hulls of traditional shops that docked in Dubai Creek, the bank building was the fifth-tallest building in Dubai when completed in 1998.

The same concept inspired the shape of the luxury Burj Al Arab hotel, which stands on an artificial island next to Jumeirah Beach.

The Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club, which includes an 18-hole tournament golf course and residential buildings, is also located along the creek.