CONSTRUCTION on the world’s tallest skyscraper has finally restarted after it was left half-built seven years ago.
Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Tower, once completed, will be three times taller than the Shard once its complete and will dwarf all other developments.
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The Jeddah Tower has long been promised as the next Burj Khalifa – the world’s current tallest building in Dubai.
The jaw-droppingly enormous tower would stand at 3,280ft high when done.
Work on the tower came to a grinding halt when the skyscraper was around a third complete amid a kingdom-wide anti-corruption purge.
Key figures connected to the project were arrested in late 2017, while the Covid pandemic also saw additional delays.
A ceremony kicked off the renewed construction efforts, with the Jeddah Economic Consortium (JEC) announcing that the building will be completed in 2028.
It was previously reported that the skyscraper would be completed in 2029.
So far, 63 of the tower’s 157 stories have been built.
Dubai’s iconic Burj Khalifa, which stands at just under 2723ft high, has held the current record for the world’s tallest building for many years.
When built, Jeddah Tower will stand more than 500ft above the Burj Khalifa.
Formerly known as Kingdom Tower, the skyscraper broke ground in 2013 and was initially expected to be completed by 2020.
First unveiled in 2011, the original plans included a hotel, a shopping mall and the world’s highest observation deck.
The tower was designed by US architect Adrian Smith, who used the building’s “three-petal” footprint and tapered aerodynamic shape to overcome the massive technical challenges of building at such heights.
The architect’s Chicago-based practice, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill, has said the tower’s shape “evokes a bundle of leaves shooting up from the ground.”
Smith and Gill told Architectural Digest: “The design for Jeddah Tower is rooted in the symbolism of Saudi Arabia while looking toward the future by being technologically expressive.”
Meanwhile, plans for the “world’s tallest hotel” with 82 floors and over 1,000 rooms have been revealed.
Ciel Tower in Dubai Marina will stand tall at 1197ft and has already received various awards for its groundbreaking design.
The new hotel, which is set to become the world’s tallest, will span a whopping 104 storeys and cost an eye-watering £338million ($450million) to complete.
The structure that’s being built by Immo Prestige Limited and NORR, will offer 360-degree views over the stunning Dubai Marina, the Palm Jumeirah and even the Arabian Gulf.
It is set to have 1,042 rooms, including 150 suites, which will spread across the tower’s 82 floors.
As well as the deluxe guest rooms and suites the impressive building will also provide premium features for the super rich.
These include the Ciel Observatory and Lounge on the 81st floor and a signature Sky Terrace with an infinity pool and Horizon Bar.
While the mega-structure hasn’t even been built yet, it’s already won various prestigious awards including the Best International Hotel Architecture and Best Hotel Architecture Arabia.
For the Ciel’s foundations, about 12,000 cubic metres of concrete and 2,700 tonnes of steel were used.
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Saudi Arabia’s mega projects
The Jeddah Tower is one of the many vast projects proposed in Saudi Arabia. These include:
- The Line: This 170 kilometre ‘landscraper’ aims to be a flagship part of Saudi Arabia’s Neom project in the country’s north west. The project was reported by Bloomberg to have been ‘scaled back’ in its medium term ambitions.
- Neom: This futuristic megacity project comes amid a big drive to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy. It has faced controversy along the way, including from tribes in the area who have reportedly faced eviction to make way for the project.
- Jeddah Tower: Aiming to be the world’s tallest building, construction halted on this megatall skyscraper in 2018 following anti-corruption purges. It took around half a decade before construction resumed.
- The Clock Towers: Located in Islam’s holiest city of Mecca, the Clock Towers stand among the world’s top ten tallest buildings. However, its construction spared international outcry when a more than 200-year-old Ottoman fort was demolished in 2002 to make way for it.
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