After many years of delays, construction of the Jeddah Tower, the world’s tallest skyscraper, has resumed in early May in Saudi Arabia.
Formerly known as the Kingdom Tower, upon completion, the skyscraper will reach a height of 1,000 meters, becoming the first structure in history to achieve a height of one kilometer. This project is part of an ambitious economic development program valued at nearly $20 billion near the Red Sea and is among several mega-projects currently underway in Saudi Arabia, Newsweek reports.
Design of the Jeddah Tower (left) and the completed one-third framework of the structure (right). (Photo: Mashable).
The Jeddah Tower, with a budget of $1.2 billion, is designed by the architectural firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture in Chicago. It will feature a luxury hotel complex, offices, short-term rental spaces, and apartments. On May 9, the architectural firm confirmed to Newsweek that construction has resumed. The current name of the tower is derived from its location in Jeddah, a major port city along the Red Sea and the second most populous city in Saudi Arabia.
Construction began in 2013 but was halted in 2018 when the main contractor, the Binladin Group, was removed following the arrest of the company’s chairman, Bakr bin Laden, the half-brother of Osama bin Laden, during a corruption crackdown led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The project was further delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When construction was paused six years ago, approximately one-third of the tower was completed, according to Architectural Digest. The unfinished framework of the building has stood in Jeddah since then. Upon completion, the Jeddah Tower will be over 152 meters taller than the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, currently the tallest building in the world. It will also be twice the height of the Empire State Building in New York and seven times taller than the Statue of Liberty.
The building will feature the largest observation deck in the world and a state-of-the-art elevator system comprising 59 elevators transporting visitors at speeds of 10 meters per second. The tower’s unique three-wing design optimizes space for residents and offers stunning views from the windows, while the gradual tapering design from base to top significantly reduces wind resistance at great heights.
The architectural firm anticipates that the project will be completed within the next 4 to 5 years, and a new contractor will be announced in the coming weeks. This project is part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 initiative, which aims to diversify the domestic economy away from an oil dependency and enhance sectors such as healthcare, education, and tourism.
