The Urban Developer
AdvertiseEventsWebinarsUrbanity
Industry Excellence
Urban Leader
Sign In
Membership
Latest
Menu
Location
Sector
Category
Content
Type
Newsletters
FROM SITE SELECTION TO DELIVERY PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT MASTERCLASS
PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT MASTERCLASS
LEARN MOREDETAILS
TheUrbanDeveloper
Follow
About
About Us
Membership
Awards
Events
Webinars
Listings
Resources
Terms & Conditions
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Republishing Guidelines
Editorial Charter
Complaints Handling Policy
Contact
General Enquiries
Advertise
Contribution Enquiry
Project Submission
Membership Enquiry
Newsletter
Stay up to date and with the latest news, projects, deals and features.
Subscribe
OfficeRenee McKeownThu 05 Mar 20

Jeddah Tower Progress: What Happened to the World’s Tallest Tower?

TUD+ MEMBER CONTENT
c4ad82cc-ff0f-411e-baf9-df58f8fe2cbb
SHARE
63
print
Print

Construction on the world’s tallest tower was scheduled to finish this year but there is no end in sight for the ambitious project.

Work on the Jeddah Tower stalled in 2018, less than one quarter of the way through the 1,000 metre high Saudi Arabian project.

First started in 2013 the skyscraper would have been taller than Dubai’s Burj Khalifa at 830 metres and would have been the heart of Jeddah Economic City.

Thornton Tomasetti principal Robert Sinn said he is part of the engineering company that provided structural design services for building formerly known as Kingdom Tower.

“The project halted construction on the tower about two years ago,” Sinn said.

“We are hopeful that construction will recommence this year.

“There is no revised completion date, construction on the surrounding masterplan is ongoing.”

Related: Saudi Arabia Launches ‘Giga Projects’ for G20

▲ The abandoned Jeddah Tower and Jeddah Economic City site.


In February, building developer Jeddah Economic Company posted a video to their Twitter page promoting the tower.

The footage included parent company Kingdom Holding’s chief executive officer Talal Almaiman visiting the site and an image of the elongated building featuring the words: “Vision 2030 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”.

Almaiman has been part of the project since it was initiated by Kingdom Holding Co owner Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.

The building was originally going to be a mile-high tower but was downgraded to one kilometre.

As of 22 October, 2017 the central core of the tower was officially at level 60 and the walls were 248m high.

In March 2018 after lengthy delays construction recommenced however little progress was made.

The mega-tall skyscraper is expected to be the heart of Kingdom City, a 23-million square metre mixed-use development site which currently looks like a construction zone.

▲ The world's tallest tower is the centrepiece of the yet to be built Jeddah Economic City.

A Four Seasons hotel and serviced apartment was planned to anchor the building along with office space, luxury condominiums and an observatory overlooking the Red Sea and Obhur Creek.

Kingdom Holding and Bill Gate’s Cascade Investment Management each hold a 47.5 per cent interest in Four Seasons.

The 1,000 metre skyscraper was designed by Adrian Smith+Gordon Gill Architecture; Adrian Smith was also the architect behind the Burj Khalifa when he was part of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.

Kingdom Holding Co, the Jeddah Economic Company and Adrian Smith+Gordon Gill Architecture did not respond to The Urban Developer's requests for comment at the time of publishing.

HotelInternationalConstructionArchitecturePlanningPlanningSector
AUTHOR
Renee McKeown
More articles by this author
ADVERTISEMENT
TOP STORIES
London skyline near the walkie talkie tower showing the 85 gracechurch street development.
Exclusive

Basilica to Business: London Office Tower’s Historic Rework

Renee McKeown
6 Min
Hotel Indigo Adelaide hero
Exclusive

Neighbourhood Hotels Reinvent Urban Hospitality

Clare Burnett
5 Min
Melbourne CBD empty site
Exclusive

Melbourne Developers Hit Back at Mayor’s ‘Lazy Landlord’ Plans

Leon Della Bosca
7 Min
The land value of many fuel retailing sites is outweighing their operational value.
Exclusive

Shrinking Servo Network Heralds Development Prospects

Patrick Lau
7 Min
Sydney airspace
Exclusive

Money Out of Thin Air: The Multibillion-Dollar Rooftop Housing Play

Vanessa Croll
8 Min
View All >
Dickon PBSA
Student Housing

Plan to Double Canberra’s Student Beds Moves Ahead

Clare Burnett
Sponsored

Immersive Walkthroughs Give Older Stock a Competitive Edge

Partner Content
The Accolade on Moore, in Canberra, forms part of Greystar's play for rapid PBSA expansion.
Student Housing

Greystar Hits 4000 Australian PBSA Beds, Aims for 10,000

Patrick Lau
The global giant plans to tap into rising student numbers as it scales up its accommodation reach nationally…
LATEST
Dickon PBSA
Student Housing

Plan to Double Canberra’s Student Beds Moves Ahead

Clare Burnett
3 Min
Marketing

Immersive Walkthroughs Give Older Stock a Competitive Edge

Partner Content
4 Min
The Accolade on Moore, in Canberra, forms part of Greystar's play for rapid PBSA expansion.
Student Housing

Greystar Hits 4000 Australian PBSA Beds, Aims for 10,000

Patrick Lau
3 Min
Billbergia Leeds St Rhodes hero.
Residential

Billbergia Six-Tower Rhodes Scheme Wins Approval

Clare Burnett
2 Min
View All >
ADVERTISEMENT
Article originally posted at: https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/jeddah-tower-progress-update-worlds-tallest-tower