Construction

Saudi Arabia’s 1km Jeddah Tower 20% complete

By Davina Munro

Posted on March 16, 2016

Tower to overtake Dubai’s Burj Khalifa as world’s tallest building

PHOTO: Jeddah Tower, formerly known as Kingdom Tower, is set to overtake the 830-metre Burj Khalifa in Dubai as the world’s tallest tower. Credit: smithgill.com

Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, which is set to the world’s tallest building, is over 20% complete, according to the developers.

The planned 1km-tower has already reached the 37th floor and is on track for completion by 2018, according to a press release by Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s investment firm Kingdom Holding, which owns a third of developer Jeddah Economic Company (JEC).

Although the number of habitable floors has not yet been revealed by JEC, the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings expects it to be around 167 floors tall on completion.

Jeddah Tower, formerly known as Kingdom Tower, is set to overtake the 830-metre Burj Khalifa in Dubai as the world’s tallest tower.

According to architecture firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill, Jeddah Tower is expected to cost $1.2 billion. It will contain 59 elevators, including 54 single-deck and five double-deck elevators, along with 12 escalators. The project is also expected to have the world’s highest observatory on its sky terrace.

The announcement comes on the back of JEC’s launch of the Alinma Jeddah Economic City Fund in December, which will provide sharia-compliant financing of 3.6 billion riyals ($959.9 million) from Alinma Bank for the project.

Mounib Hammoud, CEO of Jeddah Economic Company, commented saying: “With financing in place, we are now on our way to achieve our set goals and to complete building Jeddah Tower and the infrastructure of Jeddah Economic City as per the five year plan developed by Jeddah Economic Company”.