Standard Chartered held a ‘Top Out’ ceremony to celebrate completion of construction of its new UAE headquarters in Downtown Dubai.

Construction started on May 25, 2011 and the bank will start moving staff into the building during December, 2012.

A total of 855 people worked more than one million man hours to reach the top of the 78 meter-high building. The bank will occupy eight of the thirteen office levels in the building for an initial period of 15 years.

“Today we are celebrating a major milestone which gets us closer to realising our goal of completing a landmark building in the heart of the vibrant city of Dubai,” said Jonathan Morris, CEO, Standard Chartered UAE.

“This building is a strategic investment for us and is a clear indication of our long term commitment to our customers and the UAE - which is one of our top five markets globally. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the construction team, which put in relentless effort to meet the construction deadlines.”

The bank has committed $140 million to this development.

Under the lease agreement, Standard Chartered will have full and exclusive naming rights for the building and will occupy in excess of 125,000 sq ft. The lease agreement enables the bank to accommodate future increases in staff and includes built-in scalability for further expansion.

The leased space will have capacity for about 1,250 staff and will include a state-of-the-art trading floor.

The headquarters will be a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified building. – TradeArabia News Service