- Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia set to overtake Burj Khalifa as world’s tallest building
- Part of $20 billion Jeddah Economic City development
- Tower will house offices, homes, hotels and more when it is complete in a few years
The Burj Khalifa is set to be deposed as the world’s tallest building in the coming years, as a new tower in Saudi Arabia is set to take the record and stand at one kilometer tall.
The Jeddah Tower, when complete, will stand at about 3,281 feet tall – one kilometer – which will be 564 feet taller than the Burj Khalifa.
Protracted development
Completion of the Jeddah Tower is expected to come in the next four to five years. Its construction has been protracted. It first started in 2013, but building work was halted in 2018, when the contractor building it, the Binladin Group, was taken off the project. The COVID pandemic also held up construction.
However, building work resumed last year and it is expected to be finished within four to five years, according to the Jeddah Economic Company.
Mixed use
The tower is situated in the port city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and will form the centerpiece of the Jeddah Economic City development. It is expected it will be a slender tower that tapers towards its apex – which is for aerodynamic purposes to help fight against the wind speeds at that height.
It has been designed by Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill from Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture and, when completed, will be used for offices, homes, hotels and what is planned to be the world’s tallest observation deck.
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the current tallest building, ahead of Merdeka 188 in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, which is 2,227 feet tall and the Shangahi Tower in China, which is 2,073 ft.
