Jeddah Tower

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
General information
Status	Under construction
Type	Mixed-use: office, hotel, residential, apartments, observation, retail
Architectural style	Neo-futurism
Location	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Coordinates	21.734063°N 39.082758°E / 21.734063; 39.082758
Construction started	1 April 2013 (2013-04-01)
Estimated completion	Unknown
Cost	SR10 billion (US$10.23 billion) (preliminary)
Owner	Jeddah Economic Company; Kingdom Real Estate Development
Management	CBRE Group
Height
Architectural	At least 1,000 m (3,300 ft)
Roof	At least 1,000 m (3,300 ft)
Top floor	668 m (2,192 ft) (if completed as planned)
Observatory	652 m (2,139 ft)
Technical details
Structural system	Reinforced concrete and steel, all-glass façade
Floor count	252
Floor area	243,866 m2 (2,624,950 sq ft)
Lifts/elevators	59 (55 single deck and 4 double deck), made by KONE
Design and construction
Architect	Adrian D. Smith, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Developer	Jeddah Economic Company (JEC)
Engineer	Langan International (sub-grade and transportation planning)
Structural engineer	Thornton Tomasetti
Main contractor	Saudi Binladin Group
References

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

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

• Harrington, Daisy. "Saudi Arabia to build world's tallest tower, reaching 1 kilometer into the sky." CNN.