Saudi Arabia is on its way to build the world’s tallest tower — even taller than the Burj Khalifa — to serve as the centerpiece for Jeddah Economic City. The project’s aim is to diversify the nation’s economy and support the Vision of 2030. But, the question arises: when will the Jeddah Tower open? How tall is it going to be? What were the reasons behind the delay in the construction of this skyscraper? Find this and more about Jeddah Tower, future of architecture!
Everything You Need To Know About The Upcoming World’s Tallest Skyscraper
Once finished, Jeddah Tower Saudi Arabia, or Burj Jeddah, will beat the world’s current tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, by 564 feet. The tower will help in boosting the city’s global standing by attracting tourists and investors. And, it will also have residential apartments, luxury hotels, and the world’s highest observation deck. This tower marks a new chapter in terms of architecture as well.
Who Designed The Jeddah Tower?
Adrian Smith, the American architect — who previously designed the Burj Khalifa — is the one who designed this building that is going to surpass his previous supertall project. He is working on this project along with Gordon Gill of AS + GG Architecture to build this neo-futuristic, Y-shaped footprint in the middle of the desert.
It has a slender, three-winged design, which will help the building cope with the strong desert winds. This y-shaped form is an aerodynamic solution to reduce the vortex shedding (the whistling in the wind caused by air pressure).
The design draws on symbolism for the new era of modernity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the three-pronged footprint depicts the palm fronds that emerge from the center of the tree’s crown. But, building a skyscraper in the middle of the desert is certainly challenging — even for expert architects.
To withstand the harsh winds and heat, the tower design incorporates features to reduce the consumption of energy. The tower will contain notches on the exterior that cast shadows on the adjacent walls, and high-performance glass will block the infrared radiation, reducing the heat load.
An interesting fact about the upcoming world’s tallest building in the world is that its original design had a helipad on 157th level, which was later reimagined as a high-altitude sky terrace that was deemed too “dangerous” for helicopter landings.
Jeddah Tower Height
The plan is to build a Jeddah Tower almost 1000 meters or 3,281 feet tall. At this height, this skyscraper will surpass the current world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa — which is 828 meters or 2,717 feet tall.
So, the new tallest building in the world will be at least over 180 meters (592 feet) taller than the Burj Khalifa. And, it is going to be the world’s first building which is a kilometer tall.
How Much Of Jeddah Tower Is Already Constructed?
Since its inception in 2008, the project known as the Kingdom Tower has faced challenges regarding the construction. When the American architect, Adrian Smith, came on-board for this project in 2009, the journey of turning this vision of building the tallest tower in the middle of the desert started to turn into reality.
The project’s developer, Kingdom Holding Company, announced the plan for a tower over 1,000 meters tall to be the focal point of the new Jeddah Tower in 2011. And the construction began on 1st April, 2013.
The project has seen steady progress from the year 2014 to 2018, but it met with setbacks from the year 2018 as it reached the 63rd floor. The construction halted when the key figures involved in this project were detained due to the 2017 Saudi anti-corruption purge, including the main contractor Bakr bin Laden of the Saudi BinLadin Group. To add to the challenges, Covid-19 pandemic arrived in 2020, causing disruptions across the world. And since then, the activity on this project has been minimal.
Also read: Saudi Crown Prince Launches “King Salman Gate” Mega Project
Jeddah Tower Completion Date
In January 2025, the construction of the building officially resumed with a new team at an aggressive pace, which targets one floor every four days. Currently, the project has reached 71 floors.
The estimated Jeddah Tower completion date is 2028, which is in time for the Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince’s vision for 2030 economic diversification plan. But, some recent reports suggest that a more practical completion date for the Jeddah Tower could be 2029 or possibly 2030.
