Johannesburg's 223m-tall Carlton Centre Is about to be unseated from its position as the continent's tallest skyscraper – once construction on Kenya's "The Pinnacle" building is completed.
The 300-metre tower is now well underway, and estate agents are working hard to sell the hundreds of residential apartments in the luxury mixed-use development – one which will include its own helipad, a five-star Hilton Hotel and a viewing deck with vistas of Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya.
Says Kunaal Samani, MD of Pam Golding Properties in Kenya: "This $200-million [~R2.4-billion] project is arousing a great deal of interest in the marketplace. Backed by Dubai-based project developers White Lotus Group and Hass Petroleum of Nairobi, Kenya, the new luxury development includes two glass-facade towers – one comprising 70 storeys with 20 commercial floors (11 offices and nine retail) and the balance consisting of 209 opulent residential apartments, and the other tower the 45-storey, 255-room Hilton Hotel with conference facilities, luxury spa, gym and open-air infinity pool."
As impressive as the structure is, it will still be in the shadow of Dubai's Burj Khalifa – which remains the world's tallest building, at 828m. However, Dubai is at sea level, while Nairobi has an elevation of 1,661m – so The Pinnacle starts off "higher" than the Burj Khalifa to begin with. And since Johannesburg is at an elevation of 1,753m, the 233m Carlton Centre will remain higher still...
Watch the video about the ambitious project below.