Greg Sang was project manager for the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world's tallest man-made structure.
Greg Sang was project manager for the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world's tallest man-made structure.
The kiwi who headed the project to build the world's tallest tower has moved on - to work on the world's tallest new tower.
Greg Sang, once a humble Auckland building labourer and Takapuna drains and water mains worker, is now a senior development and project director working on the world's first kilometre-plus tall tower.
Sang was formerly projects director for Dubai's Emaar Properties but has returned to the Middle East from Hong Kong to work on the US$1.2 billion ($1.7 billion) Kingdom Tower, under way in Saudi Arabia's Jeddah.
That breathtaking project was designed by Chicago-based architect Adrian Smith of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, who also designed Dubai's Burj Khalifa and will create the first structure to surpass the 1km-high mark.
Speaking from Jeddah, Sang said he was working for the EC Harris-Mace joint venture, project managers on the Saudis' Kingdom Tower.
"We're still at the early stages. Foundations are complete and the structure is at level 14. It is always a challenge to get production proceeding at a rapid pace.
"Jeddah is developing rapidly and in many ways is similar to how Dubai was during its boom time last decade, before the global financial crisis."
Sang said he would work on the project for some years, but could not say when the tower would be open, although he said the public would be welcome there once it was finished, just as they are in Dubai.
"There will be an observation deck at level 157 to 159, which will be 644m above ground," he said.
The Kingdom Tower in Jeddah will be over 1000m high.
Sang was raised in Auckland, his great-grandfather migrating to New Zealand from Canton.
He went to Auckland Grammar School before enrolling in civil engineering at the University of Auckland. For a short time, he was a building labourer and later worked at Takapuna City Council on drains and water mains.
He then moved to Hong Kong and the giant Japanese contractor Kumagai Gumi. He worked for Britain's Maunsell Group and Ove Arup & Partners, specialising in high-rise development.
He has more than 25 years international experience in high-profile, award-winning projects, specialising in the planning and delivery of large-scale mixed-use developments in Hong Kong and the Middle East.
Sang's expertise is in development pre-planning, evaluation, analysis, construction, marketing, operations, sales and leasing, with a particular emphasis on the design, construction and delivery of large complex building projects, especially with super-tall components.
Sang was director of projects at Emaar Properties and in 2010 he said his role ended with the completion of Burj Khalifa, the 828m glass and steel structure named after Dubai's Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Tall, taller, tallest
• Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates: 828m, now world's tallest tower. • Kingdom Tower, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (under construction): at least 1000m, to become world's tallest tower. • SkyTower, Auckland, NZ: 328m.
