HispanicBusiness

The world's largest skyscraper opened Monday in Dubai.

More than twice as tall as the Empire State Building in New York, the Burj Khalifa was renamed from the Burj Dhabi in recognition of Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyah, the president of Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi's billions bailed out Dubai's collapsed financial sector in 2009.

According to the Associated Press, the tower, long known as Burj Dubai — Arabic for "Dubai Tower" —rises 2,717 feet (828 meters) from the desert. The $1.5 billion "vertical city" of luxury apartments and offices and a hotel designed by Giorgio Armani also plans to have the world's highest mosque (158th floor) and swimming pool (76th floor), the AP reports.

Dubai is one of seven cities that comprise the United Arab Emirates.

In 2009, however, Dubai's economy tanked, largely for the same reasons that hit the U.S. economy; a collapsed housing market, drying up of credit, and overbuilding.