One Za’abeel’s Link is a 230-metre elevated sky concourse, but the record-setting cantilever is a specific part of it: a 67.277-metre projection beyond the development’s main tower. One Za’abeel says the steel structure was assembled at ground level, slid into position, and raised in two lifting phases—an operation completed without disrupting the four live traffic lanes below.
What makes The Link a cantilever record?
The Link joins the two towers of One Za’abeel in Dubai. The developer describes the whole elevated structure as 230 metres long and 100 metres above ground. Its 2024 record announcement identifies the cantilever as the portion extending 67.277 metres beyond the main tower—not the full length of The Link. One Za’abeel says the achievement was recognized by Guinness World Records on 1 March 2024 in the category “Longest Cantilevered Building.” One Za’abeel’s record announcement and its project page provide those figures.
Those measurements describe different things: 230 metres is the overall structure’s length, while 67.277 metres is the projection beyond the tower. The record title does not mean that the entire 230-metre concourse is unsupported. The available project accounts do not publish structural drawings, load-path calculations, or a detailed explanation of Guinness World Records’ measurement method, so the precise engineering arrangement should not be inferred from the record label alone.
How was the structure assembled and lifted?
Ground-level assembly and sliding
The construction sequence began with steel modules assembled at ground level. One Za’abeel’s 2019 update describes seven modules and says strand jacks were used to assemble and slide the structure into position. That account describes an early assembly as 1,742 metric tonnes and 51 metres long; those figures refer to that construction stage, not the later completed Link or the 2024 lift phases.
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By July 2020, the developer said The Link had reached its final slide at ground level and weighed 7,100 tonnes before the cantilever was added. This is a pre-cantilever milestone, not a conflicting measurement of the completed structure. One Za’abeel’s July 2020 construction update records that stage. The project overview places The Link in position in September 2020 and says the cantilevered structure was completed in October 2020. One Za’abeel’s project overview gives that timeline.
Two lifting phases
In its 26 March 2024 announcement, One Za’abeel says the lift took 16 days across two phases. The first phase raised a steel structure weighing over 8,500 tonnes over 12 days. The second phase raised the cantilever, weighing more than 900 tonnes, over four days. More than 110 special and heavy-duty strand jacks were used, according to the developer. These are project-reported figures for distinct components and stages; the 2020 figure of 7,100 tonnes describes the earlier structure before the cantilever was added.
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The developer also says the installation was completed without disrupting the four live traffic lanes beneath the structure. That is a notable constraint on the lifting operation: work had to be coordinated above an active road rather than relying on a full closure, according to the 2024 announcement.
How the project reached completion
The milestone dates show a long construction sequence rather than a single record-setting lift. The Link was at its final ground-level slide by July 2020; the project overview says it was in place by September, with the cantilevered structure completed in October 2020. The Guinness World Records title was announced in 2024. The developer’s dated updates distinguish the construction work from the later public record announcement.
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The figures should be read with their dates and scope attached. In particular, the 7,100-tonne 2020 pre-cantilever milestone and the 2024 phase-one figure of over 8,500 tonnes describe different stages and component groupings in the project accounts. The available sources do not establish a single independently verified total weight for the finished Link.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What The Link is used for today
The Link is also an operating destination, not just a bridge between towers. One Za’abeel’s current overview describes restaurants, bars, and a rooftop infinity pool, with views across Dubai. The wider development also includes One&Only and SIRO hotels. The project overview describes those visitor and hospitality features.
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