After seven years of delays, construction has finally restarted on the skyscraper set to become the next world’s tallest building. Set to dominate the city’s landscape as the first one-kilometre-tall (3,281ft) building, it would become the world’s tallest structure upon completion, standing at least 180 metres (591ft) taller than Dubai’s Burj Kalifa and over 10 times taller than Big Ben.
The Jeddah Tower, also known as the Kingdom Tower, is located on the northern side of the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah. It is the centrepiece of the Jeddah Economic City project, a 56 million square foot project and a key part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. The Jeddah Tower alone is set to cost an eyewatering SR100 billion (£20 billion) and has been designed by American architect Adrian Smith, who also designed the Burj Khalifa.
The Jeddah Tower’s primary use will be to house a Four Seasons hotel, Four Seasons short-rental apartments, Class A office space and luxury condominiums. It will also feature the world’s highest observation deck, offering panoramic views of the Red Sea and the city below, and surpassing the At The Top SKY on the Burj Khalifa, located on the 148th floor at 1,823 feet high.
In August 2011, it was publicly announced by Kingdom Holding, the investment company, that a contract had been signed by Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) and construction would start soon. At this point, the tower was expected to take 63 months to complete. Construction began in April 2013.
However, progress toward construction halted in January 2018, when the building owner, JEC, stopped structural concrete work due to labour problems with a contractor following the 2017-19 Saudi Arabian purge and later the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, about one-third of the tower had been built.
In September 2023, a new request for proposals was issued to complete the delayed project. Construction resumed in January 2025, and nearly 80 floors have now been completed. The building is expected to be completed by 2028.
The tower’s construction is progressing rapidly, with a new floor being added every three to four days. Having hit 81 floors on December 14, according to recent images, it is expected to reach its 100th floor in February 2026.
A total of 59 high-speed elevators, capable of reaching speeds of over 10 metres per second (22mph), will service the tower.
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