Ithra Dubai, a leading developer in the UAE, has announced that its One Za’abeel development has achieved a major milestone, with its key feature, the world’s largest cantilever known as The Link, accomplishing its final slide at ground level.

In a statement, Ithra Dubai explained that this part of the structure is now extended to its ultimate length of 189m, bracing The Link for an impressive engineering feat, where it will be lifted 100m above ground level to its final position connecting One Za’abeel’s two towers.

A cantilevered structure will be added later, giving The Link its final shape as a cantilevered sky concourse, the statement added. Currently, the structure is safely positioned over the Happiness Bridge in Dubai’s Financial District and is undergoing its final technical preparations for its epic ascent later this year, Ithra Dubai added.

The Link began to take shape in a series of slides to elongate the structure to its final position before its lift. It is at its heaviest in its current position, weighing a total of 7,100 tonnes, it explained. Made from a composite material of steel, it required a significant 500 tonnes of force and a team of experts in the fields of construction, engineering and contracting to carry out this last slide.

Although still under development, One Za’abeel has earned its reputation as an iconic structure within Dubai’s world-class skyline, with the construction itself having garnered international attention, said the statement.

When complete, the development will ‘redefine the mixed-use offering in the region through its three-building structures that include The Link, and house the finest residential spaces and the world’s first urban resort’.

The sky concourse will offer visitors views, ambience, world-class restaurants, and panoramic photo opportunities, it concluded.