World Trade Center Re-opens as Tallest Building in America

Thirteen years after the 9/11 attacks tore down the Twin Towers, the new One World Trade Center skyscraper is reopening on a milestone day for the American city.

The tower is a 104-story, $3.9 billion (£2.44bn) skyscraper which has overcome years of political, legal and financial disagreement - which threatened to cancel the project - and become America's tallest building at 1,776ft (541 metres) high.

"The New York City skyline is whole again, as One World Trade Center takes its place in Lower Manhattan," said Patrick Foye, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the owner of the skyscraper and the construction site.

Foye added that the new skyscraper "sets new standards of design, construction, prestige and sustainability; the opening of this iconic building is a major milestone in the transformation of Lower Manhattan into a thriving 24/7 neighbourhood."

The publishing giant Conde Nast, which owns Vogue, GQ and Vanity Fair, is to move into the building with its 2,300 employees across 24 floors.

The opening of the building marks the rehabilitation of the lower Manhattan region which was devastated by the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

Its opening comes after the 9/11 memorial opened on 11 September 2011 and the 9/11 Museum was opened six months ago.

"It's a fantastic milestone," said Steve Plate, who managed the building's construction from day one.

"I was there that fateful day. And to see from where we started to where we are today, it's truly a miracle."

"It truly is the eighth wonder of the world," Plate said. "And the building itself is truly iconic."

The skyscraper, built at "Ground Zero", is intended to honour those who lost their lives in the terror attacks which saw two hijacked planes fly into the Twin Towers, killing more than 2,700 people.