Will Christo’s oil-barrel pyramid ‘Mastaba’ finally rise?

Artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude conceived their “Mastaba� -- a postmodern pyramid made of oil barrels -- as their largest and only permanent work. But since its conception in 1977, the project has enjoyed a protracted planning period that rivals those of the actual pyramids in Egypt.

Numerous setbacks -- including the wars in Iraq -- have delayed the project that was intended to rise on a desert site near Abu Dhabi.

The Guardian has reported that “The Mastaba� could be a step closer to completion. Christo told the British publication that a site called Al Gharbia, 100 miles from Abu Dhabi, has been approved for the pyramid.

“The Mastaba� would comprise approximately 410,000 oil barrels arranged to form a trapezoidal pyramid that would rise nearly 500 feet in the air, the Guardian reported Saturday.

Christo told the newspaper that the project is being financed “independently� through sales of his works and from “different investors.� The price tag for “The Mastaba� is expected to be $340 million.

No completion date has been announced, but Christo said that it would take 30 months to build and involve hundreds of people.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude have created numerous large-scale public installations around the world, including “The Gates� in New York’s Central Park and Berlin’s Reichstag wrapped in fabric. Their highly photogenic installations have usually been temporary. Jeanne-Claude died in 2009.

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