Dubai, Jan. 15 : Work on the world''s tallest building in Dubai has come to a halt for at least a year thanks to the global financial crisis.

A Scotsman report says that developer Nakheel''s decision to shelve the project, which it unveiled only in October, came as a leading credit rating firm warned that falling property prices leave the outlook for the country''s banking sector looking negative.

A report this week showed home values in the Emirate tumbling eight percent in the past three months from the previous quarter, marking the first such decline in years.

The skyscraper - billed as at least two-thirds of a mile tall - was designed to top a rival''s nearly complete tower that will be the world''s highest.

In response to questions, the state-owned Nakheel said that "further work" on the building''s foundations "will commence in 12 months".

The developer did not say how much work, if any, had been completed. (ANI)