Will the world's tallest tower ever be completed?

The delayed ascent of Saudi Arabia's Jeddah Tower

Saudi Arabia's Jeddah Tower, set to be the world's tallest skyscraper upon completion at around a kilometre high, was originally proposed in 2007. However, the megaproject was mothballed in 2013 amid a national corruption purge, while the COVID-19 pandemic further stalled development of the super-ambitious structure.

At long last, work has resumed on the setback-plagued endeavour. But will it ever be finished? Read on as we reveal the epic saga behind the Jeddah Tower – and find out when the soaring edifice is finally due for completion.

All dollar amounts in US dollars.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal proposes a mile-high tower

A mega-tall tower in the north of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia's second-largest city, was reportedly first proposed by renowned investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal (pictured). He's the chairman of the Kingdom Holding company and, at the time, was the richest person in the kingdom.

The centrepiece of the envisioned $20 billion (£15bn) Kingdom City development (subsequently renamed Jeddah Economic City), the tower was originally supposed to be 5,250 feet tall (1,600m), which is more or less a full mile. For this reason, the mountainous skyscraper was dubbed the Mile High Tower.

The Mile High Tower is deemed unfeasible

The megaproject encountered its first major setback in 2008 when soil testing of the site revealed the ground couldn't support the weight of such a lofty tower. According to Dubai-based business info publication MEED, the skyscraper's planned height was scaled back by up to 1,640 feet (500m). The Mile High Tower was accordingly renamed the Kingdom Tower.

In early 2009, reports emerged that the entire megaproject had been shelved due to the global financial crisis. Kingdom Holding had incurred huge losses as a consequence of the downturn and Bechtel, the engineering firm overseeing the entire Kingdom City megaproject, was said to be in the process of ending its involvement.

Adrian Smith is selected as the architect of the downsized tower

However, Kingdom Holding denied the reports and in 2010, Adrian Smith (pictured) of Chicago-based practice Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture was selected as the preliminary architect. That same year, Kingdom Holding signed a development agreement with Emaar Properties PJSC, and it seemed that work on the skyscraper would soon begin. 

Smith had worked for 25 years at Chicago's Skidmore Owings & Merrill before starting his own partnership in 2006. During his time at the firm, he designed an array of supertall towers. His prestigious portfolio includes New York City's Central Park Tower, the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago, Shanghai's Jin Mao Tower, the Zifeng Tower in Nanjing, and his magnum opus, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

Adrian Smith's Burj Khalifa in Dubai

The Burj Khalifa, completed in 2009, is currently the world's tallest building, standing at 2,717 feet tall (828m).

The tower in Jeddah, still known as the Kingdom Tower at this point, would be 564 feet (172m) taller than the Dubai skyscraper. At a proposed 3,281 feet (1,000m) tall, it was set to become the world's first kilometre-high edifice.

Adrian Smith's design inspiration

Perhaps prophetically, some people claim Smith's designs for both the Burj Khalifa and Jeddah Tower bear a striking resemblance to the Illinois, Frank Lloyd Wright's legendary mile-high skyscraper that was unveiled in 1956 but never came to fruition.

Smith denies he was inspired by Lloyd Wright's unrealised tower. Talking to Architectural Digest earlier this year, the acclaimed architect and his partner Gordon Gill explained the design for the Jeddah Tower is “rooted in the symbolism of Saudi Arabia” and “evokes the new growth of palm fronds shooting upward from the land—a symbol of new life heralding future growth for the kingdom.”

The projected cost and specs of the Kingdom Tower

As outlined by AS+GG in 2011, the tower was expected to cost $1.2 billion (£915m) to construct, though the final bill will reportedly well exceed $2 billion (£1.5bn).

As per the original plans, the skyscraper would boast around 213 floors, about 50 more than the Burj Khalifa. A mixed-use building spanning 5.7 million square feet (520,000 sq m), it would include a luxury hotel (later revealed to be a Four Seasons), office space, serviced apartments, luxury condos, and the world's highest observation deck on the 157th level. It's unclear whether these will feature in the final configuration, and a recent request for clarification from CNN went unanswered by Kingdom Holding.

Awe-inspiring features of the Kingdom Tower

Other awe-inspiring features of the building include 59 lifts (including five double-decker cars), 12 escalators, and a huge penthouse on the top floor, according to HowStuffWorks.

Interestingly, the 157th-floor observation deck was initially designed as a helipad. The idea was abandoned after studies revealed it would be too dangerous to land a helicopter at that height, given the unpredictable desert winds that sweep through Jeddah.

Saudi Binladen Group is selected as the main contractor

In the summer of 2011, multinational construction conglomerate Saudi Binladen Group was awarded the $1.2 billion (£915m) contract to build the tower, according to MEED.

At the time, The Wall Street Journal reported that the skyscraper would take 63 months to construct, with the projected completion date at the end of 2016.

Construction on the Kingdom Tower begins

Financing for the tower was wrapped up in September 2012, following 20 months of fraught negotiations, according to Gulf News.

Construction of the kilometre-high skyscraper finally started on 1 April 2013, coinciding with April Fool's Day. Detractors of the megaproject no doubt raised an eyebrow at the unfortunate timing...

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Kingdom Holding buys the tallest crane in the world

Above-ground construction commenced in September 2014. That same month, Kingdom Holding purchased the world's tallest ever crane.

Designed by Germany's Liebherr & WolffKran, the extendable crane would be able to reach the tower's ultimate kilometre height and lift up to 18 tonnes at a speed of 144 feet (44m) per minute.

The Kingdom Tower takes shape

In June 2015, UK newspaper The Guardian reported that 15 storeys had been built so far.

The publication also revealed the skyscraper's top 85 floors would be unoccupied since they would be too narrow for apartments, offices, and most other practical purposes. Though some of these dummy levels would house plant machinery and comms equipment, this sparked criticism as the unusable floors would have the sole purpose of securing the building's status as the tallest in the world.

Construction is paused on the Kingdom Tower

Steady progress was being made on the megaproject but in January 2018 work was abruptly halted. At the time, 62 floors, around one-third of the skyscraper, had been completed.

The mothballing of the tower was a consequence of the 2017-2019 Saudi Arabian purge. Key figures involved in the megaproject were arrested in the anti-corruption crackdown ordered by the controversial Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, including Kingdom Holding boss Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and the president of the Saudi Binladen Group, Bakr bin Laden (the half-brother of al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden). Their arrests put the future of the tower in jeopardy.

The COVID-19 pandemic further delays the renamed Jeddah Tower

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal was released after paying a huge settlement to the Saudi authorities, while Bakr bin Laden was also eventually freed, having transferred his stake in the tower to the Saudi government. In the meantime, the skyscraper was renamed the Jeddah Tower.

The COVID-19 pandemic further delayed the megaproject, and sceptics began to doubt it would ever be completed.

Saudi Arabia's scaled-back megaprojects

As part of its effort to diversify away from oil, Saudi Arabia is undergoing a building boom. However, it has a habit of announcing and even starting outrageously ambitious megaprojects that never reach fruition.

The most egregious white elephant is the desert megaproject Neom in the north of the country. Earlier this year, its flagship linear city, The Line, was scaled back from 106 miles (170km) to just 1.5 miles (2.4km) and now has a projected population of 300,000, down from the 1.5 million residents that were originally envisaged.

Construction finally resumes on the Jeddah Tower

According to MEED, work quietly resumed on the Jeddah Tower in September of last year

Jeddah Economic Company (JEC), the development consortium in charge of the megaproject, invited a number of companies to bid for the contract to complete the skyscraper, including local firms and contractors from China and Europe.

Saudi Binladen Group is awarded the contract to complete the Jeddah Tower

The contract to finish the tower, which will reportedly include 157 floors as opposed to the 213 previously suggested, was recently awarded to the original contractor, Saudi Binladen Group. The contract is said to be worth between $1.9 billion (£1.5bn) and $2.1 billion (£1.6bn).

According to CNN, around $290 million (£221m) has already been spent on the skyscraper.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal attends a ceremony to mark the resumption of the megaproject

A ceremony to officially mark the resumption of the megaproject's construction was held on 2 October last year.

It was attended by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who later posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) showing a render of the tower, captioning it with the words “We're back”.

When will the Jeddah Tower be completed?

Now for the all-important question: when will the Jeddah Tower be completed?

As soon as 2028 according to JEC, which announced the expected finish date at the ceremony on 2 October. But the skyscraper may not hold on to its title of the world's tallest building for long, as jaw-dropping as that may seem.

The proposed two kilometre-high Rise Tower in Riyadh

Incredibly, a building double the height of the Jeddah Tower is in the works.

The idea was proposed at the end of 2022 and an initial rendering of the mind-blowing two-kilometre-high gigatower at a site north of the Saudi capital Riyadh was unveiled in August 2023. According to Architect's Journal, the UK's Foster + Partners is working on the 6,562-foot (2,000m) skyscraper dubbed the Rise Tower, which is set to cost around $5 billion (£3.8bn).

Will the Jeddah Tower be completed in time to claim its crown? Watch this space...

Now discover more about Neom, the world's most contentious megaproject

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