Officials at London’s Shard
Tower, which is 95 percent funded by Qatar and is the tallest building in
Western Europe, have denied reports the project has been delayed and confirmed
it will be officially opened on July 5 as planned.
A spokesperson said the physical
completion of the building occurred on May 31 and the official inauguration,
which will be attended by the Qatari prime minister and the UK’s Prince Andrew,
will go ahead as planned on July 5.
The spokesperson said reports at
the weekend claimed opening of the 310m tall Shard Tower would be delayed by up
to two months were inaccurate.
A report construction trade
website Building.co.uk quoted Irvine Sellar, the founder and CEO of developer
Sellar – Qatar’s partner in the project – in which he claimed the completion of
the tower could come “many weeks after” the end of the London 2012 Olympic
Games.
The report added Sellar had
agreed with the contractor of the tower to extend the deadline, with the
extensions resulted from “changes in the design as it progressed” and increases
in the amount of work involved.
The GBP£500m (US$779m) tower,
which is being co-financed by Qatar Diar and is located on the South Bank of
the Thames, is part of the US$3bn London Quarter development by Qatar Diar and
Sellar.
“The View from The Shard (the
viewing galleries) will open in mid-February 2013, with the Shangri-La Hotel
formally opening around the same time. The restaurants will open as they are
let and fitting out is completed. The offices will be occupied as they are let
and fitted out. The Shard will be open to the public by the end of Q1 2013 with
the adjoining The Place headquarters building due to complete in Q2 2013,” the
spokesperson said in a statement.
It is estimated that more than 1m
visitors a year will visit the tower.
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