At the launch on Friday, Mr Silverstein said the building would be a "new icon of the New York skyline".

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The U.S. lackluster job market is as much to do with the 2008 financial crisis as it has to do with our education system, said Silverstein in an interview with me on Thursday.

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"We are 100% committed to building 3 World Trade Center to the top as quickly as possible, " said Janno Lieber, Mr. Silverstein's deputy who oversees the World Trade Center development.

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