Mirwais Azizi, the founder and chairman of Azizi Developments, has said that he will build the second tallest tower in the world with a height of 725 meters in Dubai.

In an interview with CNN, he said that the construction of the “Azizi Tower” started in January of this year, with the approval of the Dubai authorities.

“From the outset, we had plans for two designs — one for the initially approved height of 526 meters, and the other for the taller, now-approved 725 meters,” Aziz told CNN.

According to him, the preliminary works for the construction of this tower are well underway.

This tower is located on Sheikh Zayed Road, in Dubai’s World Trade Center.

Burj Azizi will still stand almost 340 feet shorter than the 2,717-foot-tall Burj Khalifa, less than two miles away. But it will handily beat local competition for the city’s second-tallest title, exceeding the current holder, Marina 101 (1,394 feet).

The 131-story skyscraper will feature apartments, an all-suite “seven-star” luxury hotel and a seven-floor “vertical” shopping mall.

Azizi stated investment in the project has surpassed 6 billion dirhams ($1.6 billion).

“My vision for Burj Azizi is to create a lasting legacy, a tribute to Dubai as a destination of choice for both residents and visitors and a monumental achievement in engineering,” said Azizi.

Burj Azizi is slated for completion in 2028, with apartments expected to go on sale in February 2025.

Japan’s ambassador in Kabul, Takayoshi Kuromiya, said on Thursday that his country plans to build 165 primary schools in nine provinces of Afghanistan.

Speaking in a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs, the envoy appreciated the serious and effective fight of the Islamic Emirate against drugs and assured of Japan’s continued assistance to Afghanistan, according to a statement released by Arg.

He said that Japan has already announced 10 million dollars for the fight against drugs.

Kuromiya added that the Japanese government wants to allocate $300,000 for the national museum in Kabul in order to protect Afghanistan’s heritage and historical artifacts and increase the capacity of the relevant departments.

The diplomat pointed out that his country respects the values ​​of the Afghan society, Tokyo is monitoring the progress of the Islamic Emirate and seeks to establish relations between the G7 countries and the Islamic Emirate.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs Mawlawi Abdul Kabir said that the relations between Kabul and Tokyo are very important and in the interest of both countries. He also said that Japan is an important part of the Islamic Emirate’s foreign policy.

Mawlawi Abdul Kabir expressed his hope that the pledges made at the third Doha meeting will be implemented as soon as possible and reminded that the Islamic Emirate as a responsible government has fulfilled all its commitments alone and without anyone’s help.

He pointed out that the Islamic Emirate’s high commission for the fight against narcotics will soon start working.