Jeddah Tower Finally Restarts Construction!

Saudi Arabia is on a huge building spree with massive megaprojects such as Oxagon, Trojena, and the Line. And now, more than five years after the Jeddah Tower was suddenly put to a complete stop, its construction might finally resume. But why now?

What has changed? And why is neighboring Dubai already planning to build an even taller structure? Let’s find out.

Jeddah Tower The Jeddah Tower, to put it simply, will be the world’s first ever man made structure to reach a height of more than one kilometer. This skyscraper is Saudi Arabia’s contender to finally dethrone the Burj Khalifa which has held the record for the tallest building in the world for more than a decade now. Once completed, it would surpass the current record by as much as 180 meters!

And that is assuming that the Jeddah Tower will be built up to only a kilometer above the ground. Though it was announced that the tower would be at least 1,000 meters, its actual height is actually a closely-guarded secret. In some early interviews with the architect, it was even stated that it may actually be closer to a mile or 1,600 meters in height (1) – which would double the current record.

But there have been quite a few doubts surrounding the feasibility of such a huge building after soil testing was done on the site (2). As it stands today, we might never really know the height for sure until the building is finally finished. Once completed, the Jeddah Tower will be home to a vast array of luxury residences, restaurants, offices, a Four Seasons Hotel, and the world’s highest observation deck.

Its creators hope that building such a skyscraper would firmly place the city of Jeddah on the world stage and they hope to replicate the same economic success that the Burj Khalifa has brought to the city of Dubai. Initial Plan & Construction But to understand how we got to this point, we first have to go a few years back. Unsurprisingly, designing the world’s first kilometer-tall building is no easy feat.

In fact, some of the leading architects from all over the world were chosen to take part in a design competition for the project. Eventually, American architect Adrian Smith came up on top with his breathtaking design, who is also the architect behind the Burj Khalifa and many other supertall skyscrapers around the world. Now that’s quite the portfolio.

After the design was finalized, the main company behind the construction was also selected. Saudi-based construction firm Binladin Group was awarded a $1. 2 billion USD contract to begin laying the foundations for the Jeddah Tower.

Meanwhile, most of the funds to finance the project is coming from Kingdom Holding Co. A company chaired by the Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal. Finally back in 2013, construction began after more than 5 years of planning and bidding.

Things were moving smoothly on site over the next few years and by 2017, it was reported that the main structure had reached a height of 252 meters (4). The foundation and piling work was also reported to have been fully completed. Marking a huge milestone with the project estimated to be already a third of the way to completion.

However, during the same year, the owner of Kingdom Holding Co. and the chairman of Saudi Binladin were both arrested as part of the 2017 Saudi Arabian Purge. A series of mass arrests in the country that targeted prominent princes, government officials, and businessmen.

And unlike Neom and The Line for example, which is funded by the country’s sovereign wealth fund, the Jeddah Tower is a private venture. Meaning that its success largely hangs on the financial backing of only a few individuals. And the arrest of these key individuals proved to be detrimental to the entire project.

Things started to take a turn for the worse when in early 2018, labor issues with a contractor forced all structural work on the project to come to a complete halt (5). It also didn’t help that just two years later, the COVID-19 pandemic began which ended all hope for construction to resume. But now, after more than five years of complete radio silence, it was announced just last September that construction on the Jeddah Tower will now finally resume.

The project’s developer has just initiated the process of looking for a new contractor that would replace the Binladin Group. Several companies from Saudi Arabia, China, Korea, and Europe have all been invited to submit their bids for the contract (6). The invited companies were given three months to draft their proposals.

Meaning that the project will most likely have a new contractor by the end of the year at the earliest. Although the actual reason for the resumption of the project is still unknown, we can make a few educated guesses given the information we’re presented and the current timeline of events. For one, as the world is now slowly recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, health protocols and restrictions have now become much more relaxed.

This is in contrast to the period between 2020-2022 wherein it was simply impossible for the project to resume construction given the constraints. And now with less strict guidelines in place, contractors can once again deploy full-sized teams of laborers on site. Another probable reason can be attributed to the country’s reputation.

The Jeddah Tower is supposed to be Saudi Arabia’s answer to Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. An unprecedented feat of engineering that would see the country hold the prestige of having the tallest building in the world. If the project were to have been shelved indefinitely, it would have looked very bad for the country.

Not to mention that it would have also been a huge embarrassment. Completely abandoning the Jeddah Tower was simply just outside of the equation for Saudi Arabia. One final reason for the revival is Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Saudi Vision 2030.

Although the Jeddah Tower is not being built by the Saudi Government, their goals are very much aligned. With both the creation of tens of thousands of jobs and solidifying the country’s position on the world stage as a global business and cultural leader. If construction on the tower were to continue smoothly and without delay, it might just be completed just in time by the turn of the decade.

Though the Jeddah Tower is already impressive on its own, it's actually only a small part of a bigger megaproject. The Jeddah Economic City. We spent a lot of time researching the latest information about the Jeddah Tower and also editing this video.

So if you enjoyed this video so far, we would appreciate it a lot, if you subscribe. But now, let’s continue! The Jeddah Economic City is a massive development that aims to revitalize the port city that is famous for its resorts and historic districts.

Located strategically by the Red Sea coast and just north of the King Abdulaziz International Airport, this planned city is poised to become a major tourist, religious, and economic hub in the near future. The project will span a total area of 5. 2 square kilometers and is expected to cost as much as $20 billion USD.

With much of the funding coming from private investors and loans from Saudi banks (7). At the center of this planned city will be the Jeddah Tower. An enormous skyscraper that will serve as a symbol of Saudi’s engineering and economic capabilities.

As it stands today, construction behind Stage 1 of the city is actually well underway. With the most recent reports indicating that the road network and landscaping work is 90% complete (8). This is all despite the controversy surrounding the arrest of the project’s owner and main financial backer Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal.

Unlike the problems and delays faced by the Jeddah tower during construction, Jeddah Economic City seems to be doing just fine. Once the foundations and basic services are complete, the city can immediately begin the process of leasing plots of land for various developers and companies to begin their projects. It is estimated that the first phase of the development alone will be able to create a total of 30,000 jobs (9).

Providing opportunities for both Saudi nationals and foreign workers. Once completed, the city will feature an impressive skyline with plans for at least 200 mixed-use skyscrapers that will surround the central Jeddah Tower (8). It will also be divided into three sectors namely: a residential district; a financial district; and a modern recreation of Al-Balad, Jeddah’s historic district.

The Jeddah Economic City is expected to become a major economic, religious, and academic hub for the country. Similar in vein as Dubai is to the UAE and further solidifying Saudi Arabia as a major contender in the world stage. But with all these recent and major developments with the Jeddah Tower, what does building the world’s tallest skyscraper actually mean to the rest of the world?

For one, neighboring Dubai is probably not very happy to hear news of the Jeddah Tower resuming construction. After all, they stand to lose the title of having the world’s tallest building. Which they have held for 14 years now.

The opening of the Burj Khalifa has helped to transform Dubai into the tourist and economic hub that it is now. Losing the record now to a neighboring country is probably not the most ideal scenario for them. But this dissatisfaction doesn’t end just there.

Dubai also stands to lose the race to build the world’s first kilometer-high structure. The Dubai Creek Tower was supposed to be the Emirate’s response to Saudi Arabia. A project designed solely to build a structure even taller than the Jeddah Tower.

However, even this plan doesn’t actually change much because of a slight technicality. It is worth mentioning that the Dubai Creek Tower does not actually count as a skyscraper. Because less than 50% of its height is habitable, the structure is only considered as a supported tower (10).

It would still be the tallest structure ever made upon completion, but the record of the tallest building would still likely go to Saudi Arabia. Similar to the fate of the Jeddah Tower, this project was also abandoned for some time because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But strangely, just as Saudi announced the resumption of their construction, Dubai also announced that they are planning to redesign the concept behind their tower.

Suggesting that they might also be planning to resume construction some time in the near future. Dubai has actually had this project on hold for many years now. And suddenly, now that the Jeddah Tower is announced to start again, they are somehow doing the same.

In fact, the idea behind the Creek Tower was always to build something taller than the Jeddah Tower. Even when it first began construction seven years ago. And when the Jeddah Tower stopped back in 2017, Dubai announced that their project would also be delayed.

Another possible effect of both the Jeddah and Dubai Creek Towers to the rest of the world is the emerging race to continue building taller and taller. If any of these two towers were to ever be finished, it would be safe to assume that the other will probably have a plan to build something even bigger. And if not, someone, somewhere else in the world is probably already thinking about how to build something taller.

Who knows? Maybe in just a few decades from now, a one-kilometer tall building would no longer be as impressive as we think they are right now. What do you think about the Jeddah Tower?

Do you think it will finally be completed this time around? Let us know in the comments below. Thank you for watching, and we will see you in the next video!

Ignore Possible Questions for Interview: 1. There aren’t many sources online that go in depth about the financing of the Jeddah Economic City. And with a considerable price tag of $20 billion USD, how exactly will the project be funded?

Have you ever considered working with the Saudi government, through the Public Investment Fund, to finance the project? 2. It was recently reported that the Dubai Creek Tower would also soon resume construction, or at the very least there have been new developments that would suggest that the project could soon begin construction once again.

What are your thoughts regarding this information and its timing? How do you view their plan of creating an even taller skyscraper than the Jeddah Tower? Do you view them as competition?

3. Was there a specific reason as to why Jeddah was the chosen location for the world’s first one kilometer skyscraper? Did you consider other locations in the past?

Sources: 1. Crown of the Kingdom - Construction Week Online 2. https://web.

archive. org/web/20110716192034/http://www. tallestbuildingintheworld.

com/building_id_108_Mile+High+Tower+%28working+name%29. php 3. Saudis plan world’s tallest tower | The Seattle Times 4.

Jeddah Tower: What does the world's next tallest skyscraper look like now? 5. Will the Jeddah Tower, World's Tallest Building, Ever Be Finished?

| HowStuffWorks 6. Jeddah developer restarts world’s tallest tower 7. Jeddah Economic City gets loan for world's tallest tower project.

8. Jeddah Economic City infrastructure work nearing completion 9. Jeddah Economic City Phase 1 to create 30,000 jobs - Construction Week Online 10.