A kilometer to the sky. This ambitious is the plan Saudi Arabia To build the Jeddah Towera skyscraper that will not only exceed the Burj Khalifabut it will look like – almost – a more building on the horizon. With more than 1,000 meters highthis gigantic structure promises to change forever the profile of Jeddah and, incidentally, the map of the highest skyscrapers in the world. But arriving so high has not been easy or fast task.
The idea of lifting the highest tower in the world was born more than a decade ago, with the intention of making the Dubai Burj Khalifa, which holds 828 meters high, will remain in the background. And, to ensure that it was, Saudi Arabia trusted the project to the Saudi Binladin Group (SBG)the same team of architects that designed the skyscraper of Dubai. But, as usually happens with the great plans, nothing was as simple as it seemed at the beginning.
Although the Jeddah tower would be supposed to be finished in 2018the reality was very different. The work was paralyzed by labor problems, the Covid-19 pandemic and a corruption purge that shook the entire country in 2017. At that time, the heir prince Mohammed Bin Salman He created an anti -corruption committee that, in his crusade for centralizing political power, ended with more than 380 arrests, including ministers, princes and even members of his own family. As a result, the Foundations of the Jeddah Tower were abandoned And the construction was frozen for years.
The tower has not stopped growing for two years
But, as they say, the third is the defeated. At the end of 2023, the project promoter invited local contractors to present their proposals and, finally, the Kingdom Holding Company He announced that the construction had restarted. By then, they had already reached 64 floor and had begun to use a Innovative cement application technique that will allow them to complete a floor every four days. Although the total number of floors is not closed, it is estimated that it will be about 160, with more than 1,000 meters high.
The design of the Jeddah tower not only seeks to break records, but also redefine modern architecture. Its triangular and elongated shape, inspired by desert plants fronds, is not just aesthetics; It is also functional. The structure has been designed to fight wind and gravitywith a wide nucleus on the lower floors that narrow as it rises, thus maximizing the usable space. In addition, it will have 59 elevators and 12 escalatorsincluding five double cabin elevators to optimize the flow of people.
And it is not only about height. The Jeddah Tower will be the epicenter of a new city which will cover 5.3 million square meters, with hospitals, schools, universities, shopping centers and luxury homes. It will also house the tallest viewpoint in the worldcommercial spaces, offices, recreation areas and five -star hotels such as Four Seasons. All this under a glass lining that will give it the appearance of a elongated pyramid With a base of three edges.
Project financing, which amounts to billions of dollars, has also been a challenge. Although Binladin Group has financed the first phase and banks have contributed additional capital, there are still unleashed investment sources. What is known is that the project has a strong support from the Saudi governmentwho sees in the Jeddah tower an opportunity to revalue the surrounding lands and diversify the economy of the country as part of its ambitious Vision 2030 Plan.
If everything follows as planned, the Jeddah Tower will be finished in 2028surpassing Burj Khalifa and placing Saudi Arabia at the top, literally, of the World Career for skyscrapers. But the Saudi ambition does not stop there. They are already thinking about their next record to beat: a skyscraper two kilometers high in Riyadh, near the Rey Khalid International Airport.
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