Where is the tallest unfinished building in the world?

Everyone knows that the tallest building in the world, the 828-meter Burj Khalifa skyscraper, is located in Dubai. Where is the tallest unfinished building on the planet? The record-breaking “ghost skyscraper” Goldin Finance 117, 597 meters high, adorns the Chinese city of Tianjin.

Construction of the Goldin Finance 117 skyscraper started in 2008. According to the project, this giant was to become the main building of a large complex. The tower consisted of 128 floors, of which 117 were dedicated to a fashionable hotel and commercial premises, and another 11 were intended for mechanical and operational services. Four underground levels were also provided.

The tower in Tianjin was supposed to be unique of its kind. Residential premises were designed on the top floors, which had never been done before in such high-rise buildings. But, unfortunately, the project was not implemented. Shortly after construction began, the global crisis known as the Great Recession struck.

For two years, builders and architects had hope that work would resume. But in 2010 it became clear that the object needed to be frozen for a long time. In 2011, the construction was reopened and a completion date was even set for 2018 or 2019. By 2015, Goldin Finance 117 reached an impressive height of 597 meters. That's where it all ended - since then, the unfinished skyscraper has been sadly rising on the outskirts of Tianjin.

Experts believe that the project was doomed to failure from the very beginning. The developer who took on the job was a start-up company, the Goldin Group, which had no backing from the Chinese government. This meant that the financing of the project from start to finish lay solely on the shoulders of the company, without any help or assistance from government agencies.

If successful, perhaps all expenses would be more than recouped. But it is not exactly. The fact is that the skyscraper is very poorly located. It is on the outskirts of a modest metropolis by Chinese standards with a population of 13.8 million people. Few rich people would want to invest in such real estate.

The sad story of the Golding Group skyscraper gave a good lesson to the authorities. In 2020, the country's government issued a decree limiting the number and scale of skyscrapers built in the country. The Chinese unfinished tower has a brother in misfortune - the tallest skyscraper in Africa, Ponte City Apartments.