Dubai’s Burj Azizi tower is fitting what is billed as the world’s longest elevator, a continuous double-decker climb of more than 2,000 feet into the sky.
The Sun reported that the luxury skyscraper will use double-decker cars and new hoisting gear from manufacturing partner KONE so riders can travel the equivalent of 140 floors in one unbroken trip, described at about 2,000 feet and as a continuous journey to 2,071 feet.
When finished, Burj Azizi is set to stand 2,379 feet tall and rank as the world’s second-tallest structure, behind only Dubai’s Burj Khalifa at 2,716 feet. The elevator plan is aimed at serving that kind of height without the usual mid-building transfers.
Older elevators typically stop around 1,600 feet. Past that point, conventional steel ropes grow too heavy to work well over long distances. Elevator hardware has largely run on the same basic approach for about 150 years, which is why supertall towers have needed a different solution.
KONE’s answer is its ultra-lightweight UltraRope system. The company says the technology has already cut roughly 3,000 kilograms of weight from elevator installations on trips of up to 984 feet, opening the door to much taller continuous rides.
The cars planned for Burj Azizi are double-decker. KONE also describes AI-powered controls that watch how people move through the building and assign the best elevator, a setup the firm says can shrink rush-hour waits by as much as 60 percent.
KONE CEO Philippe Delorme cast the project as part of a larger shift in city skylines.
"What was once considered a futuristic vision for cities is steadily becoming reality, with skylines reaching beyond a kilometre in height."
Delorme also pointed to the firm’s high-rise solutions as a response to the “ever-evolving urban needs” of supertall development. Pascal Nassour, KONE’s senior vice president of global major projects, struck a similar note.
"The same solutions that support complex high-rise projects today can help shape the next generation of urban development as more buildings reach past the one-kilometre mark."
No firm calendar date for the tower’s completion or the elevator’s first public ride appears in the available reporting. The project is described in relative terms: the elevator is being fitted and launched for a tower that will soon stand among the tallest on Earth.
Dubai has already proven it can push buildings past earlier limits. The Burj Khalifa remains the world’s tallest. Burj Azizi is positioned to take second place at 2,379 feet. Moving thousands of residents, workers, and visitors through that much vertical space is the practical bottleneck once the concrete and glass are up.
That is the problem KONE’s UltraRope, double-decker cars, and AI dispatch are meant to solve. Traditional steel cable simply becomes a dead weight problem above roughly 1,600 feet. A continuous ride past 2,000 feet, if delivered as described, would clear that barrier for one of the next entries on the global height chart.
Independent verification of the “longest ever” label, the exact rated rise between the 2,000-foot and 2,071-foot figures, and the final contract package for this specific tower are not spelled out beyond the company’s and the project’s own claims. What is clear from the reporting is the intent: fit a double-decker, lightweight-cable, AI-managed elevator into Burj Azizi so passengers can travel the height of about 140 floors without stepping off.
Ambition still shows up as steel, cable, and a decision to build higher, while other cities settle for shorter skylines and longer arguments.
