Atlanta, For Immediate Release: For decades now, the ever escalating race to erect the world’s tallest building has been a constant feature in global development. But Malaysia’s Petronas Towers rank as the most significant high-rise in recent history, noted futurist McKinley Conway contends in his new book, Global Super Projects: Mega Ventures That Are Shaping Our Future.

The landmark Petronas Towers, however, make up only one element in the host of mega-endeavors that Conway has selected the most significant in recent history. The prolific author of more than two dozen books has also chosen the top projects in 19 other categories, ranging from environmental and conservation undertakings, to new airports, highways and other infrastructure elements. (To access all of Conway’s selections, as well as the Conway Global Super Projects Registry, look for the online version of the entire book that will be available by Jan. 16, 2006, at www.sitenet.com/books/superprojects. To go directly to the Conway Global Super Projects Registry, go to www.sitenet.com/books/superprojects/registry.)

Conway, a pioneer in the economic development field, made his selections from what he calls “Super Projects, the billion-dollar babies that are changing the face of world development.” A Super Project, he explains, “represents a cost of US$1 billion or more and/or a represents a technological breakthrough of worldwide significance.” Conway’s Atlanta-based research firm, Conway Data Inc., maintains a global Super Project database that now includes some 2,000 ventures.

Just how did Conway, who has studied major global projects for decades and spearheaded a series of historic conferences around the world that brought together leading Super Project experts in, choose lacrème de la crème? The winners, he explains, “were those deemed to be most significant in improving the quality of life for large numbers of the world’s citizens.”

Here, for example, is how the author explained his choice for the world’s most significant high-rise project:

“Our choice for the world’s top high-rise structure is Malaysia’s Petronas Towers – not one but two twin towers that, for a time, were the world’s tallest. While new development trends appear, some concepts stay the same. There’s no let-up in the competition to build the world’s tallest structure.

“The World Trade Center attack in New York may have cooled enthusiasm for high-rise in the United States for a brief interval, but such projects continue to capture the imagination of engineers and architects from the Middle East and Pacific Rim to Manhattan. Despite the uncertainty in the United States, Chicago’s Fordham Company has just announced a proposal to build the Fordham Spire, which would become the tallest building in the United States at 2,000 feet (610 meters).

“For a time, attention was focused on the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which measure 1,483 feet (452 meters). Then the spotlight shifted to Taipei 101, which rises to 1,670 feet (509 meters) in Taiwan. Both would be topped by the new World Trade Center ( Freedom Tower) being planned in New York. It would scale 1,776 feet (541 meters).”

And the competition to construct the world’s tallest building continues to unfold at a rapid pace, Conway says:

“At Dubai, U.A.E., the Burj Tower would be eclipsed by the Vedic ‘ Center of India’ tower at Katangi in India – proposed to be 2,222 feet (677 meters) tall if completed in 2008.”