Jeddah Tower

A skyscraper construction project in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia which recently restarted construction on September 2023.

Jeddah Tower, or Kingdom Tower is a paused skyscraper construction project in Jeddah, a major port city on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia. If completed according to plan, the Kingdom Tower would be the tallest building in the world, a title currently held by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Kingdom Tower is planned to be approximately 1 km (3,300 ft) high, which is significantly taller than the current Guinness World Record holder, the Burj Khalifa which stands 828 m (2,717 ft) high.

Jeddah Tower
برج جدة
Jeddah Tower in August 2019
Map
General information
StatusUnder construction[1]
TypeMixed-use: office, hotel, residential, apartments, observation, retail
Architectural styleNeo-futurism
LocationJeddah, Saudi Arabia
Coordinates21°44′03″N 39°04′58″E / 21.734063°N 39.082758°E / 21.734063; 39.082758
Construction started1 April 2013 (2013-04-01)
Estimated completionUnknown
CostSR10 billion (US$10.23 billion)[2] (preliminary)
OwnerJeddah Economic Company; Kingdom Real Estate Development
ManagementCBRE Group
Height
ArchitecturalAt least 1,000 m (3,300 ft)
RoofAt least 1,000 m (3,300 ft)
Top floor668 m (2,192 ft) (if completed as planned)
Observatory652 m (2,139 ft)
Technical details
Structural systemReinforced concrete and steel, all-glass façade
Floor count252 [3]
Floor area243,866 m2 (2,624,950 sq ft)
Lifts/elevators59 (55 single deck and 4 double deck),[4][6] made by KONE[7]
Design and construction
ArchitectAdrian D. Smith, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
DeveloperJeddah Economic Company (JEC)[9]
EngineerLangan International (sub-grade and transportation planning)[8]
Structural engineerThornton Tomasetti
Main contractorSaudi Binladin Group
References
[4][5]

Kingdom Tower is the first stage in the Kingdom City project, a planned suburb of Jeddah intended to become a new city entirely. Plans for Kingdom Tower have been circulating since 2008, when it was originally named the "Mile-High Tower." However, the foundation where the Kingdom Holding Company wanted to build the tower was not stable enough to support a mile-high structure. Instead, the company settled for the kilometer-high title, where on August 2, 2011, Kingdom Holding announced that construction would commence shortly. The idea of Kingdom Tower is credited to the Prince of Saudi Arabia, Al-Waleed bin Talal, who is also the owner of Kingdom Holding Company. As one of the wealthiest men in the world, the Saudi prince is the main contributor to the project.

Issues

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However, many people are complaining that the tower is going to be a waste of much needed capital. The government has many problems and issues that require the money of the Saudi Arabian government, such as improving education and providing jobs that will benefit the country as a whole. As such, there are some that believe the country cannot afford to pursue such a large project. Many believe that this project is an elitist venture made simply to compete with the already-failed Burj Khalifa, which is known to be almost completely empty. Saudi Arabians and immigrants alike fear that the project is going to be a failure in stimulating the lagging economy of Saudi Arabia, and will instead add to the debt of the country.

Still, others also believe that the project will benefit the economy of Saudi Arabia, bringing in much needed jobs to help construct the building, and will bring in a large amount of tourism already concentrated within the Hejaz area where Jeddah resides.

References

change
  1. "Owner May Ramp up Construction of Jeddah Tower, Planned to be over 1 km | 2019-11-06 | Engineering News-Record".
  2. Summer Said (3 August 2011). "Saudis Plan World's Tallest Tower". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  3. "Travel to the Luxurious Jeddah City". Luxury Travel Magazine.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Jeddah Tower – The Skyscraper Center". Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
  5. "Mile-High Tower". SkyscraperPage. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  6. "Kingdom Tower Jeddah, Saudi Arabia" (PDF). Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture LLP. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  7. "KONE wins order for Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Tower, the world's tallest building". KONE Corporation. Archived from the original on 2017-08-23. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  8. "Langan Website". Langan International. 2011. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  9. Nambiar, Sona (2 August 2011). "Kingdom Tower to pip reigning champ Burj Khalifa by 173m". Emirates 24/7. Dubai Media Incorporated. Retrieved 3 August 2011.