Jeddah Tower May Soon Dethrone Burj Khalifa As Tallest Building In The World; All You Need To Know

On March 10, 2010, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat certified Burj Khalifa as the world's tallest building. Fast-forward 14 years and Burj Khalifa may soon lose its status to Jeddah Tower (also referred as Burj Jeddah and previously known as Kingdom Tower).

The upcoming world’s tallest tower is envisioned in the Jeddah Economic City (JEC) in the northern part of Obhur in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The city is located along the coastline of the Red Sea and between the two Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah. The Jeddah Tower is designed by leading Architect Adrian Smith, who had also designed the Burj Khalifa.

So here's all you need to know about the Kingdom Tower which is about to dethrone Burj Khalifa as the tallest building in the world.

The height of the Kingdom Tower will be over 1,000 meters (3,280 ft.) and will have a total construction area of 530,000 square meters. Jeddah tower will be the centrepiece and first construction phase of the $20 Billion Jeddah Economic City development in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, near the Red Sea.

The Kingdom Tower will have 170 stories, seven stories of which will be allocated for the five-star Four Seasons Hotel which will have around 200 rooms and 121 luxury serviced apartments, and seven stories for offices. The Jeddah Tower will also have 61 stories featuring 318 housing units of various types of amenities, gyms, spas, cafes and restaurants and two sky lobbies. The under-construction tallest building will also feature the world’s highest observation decks ever built.

The tower will also feature 59 elevator systems divided between single and double-decked units for convenient movement among floors and levels.

According to the data available on JEC's official website, the estimated cost of the 1,000 meters tall Kingdom Tower is approximately $1.2 billion. The tower will be the centrepiece of the $20 billion Jeddah Economic City development in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, near the Red Sea.

The construction of the Jeddah tower began on April 1, 2013, with the early estimated completion date being that of 2018. However progress towards construction was halted in January 2018, when JEC stopped structural concrete work, by this time about one-third of the project was already completed. This was caused due to labour issues with a contractor following the 2017–2019 Saudi Arabian purge which saw mass arrest of a number of prominent Saudi Arabian princes, government ministers, and business people in Saudi Arabia. The construction was further stalled due to COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2023, it was reported that the Jeddah Economic City had restarted the project following five years of inactivity, but no firm timeline for completion has been announced by JEC.

Here is the comparison of these two tallest skyscrapers in the world.

If Jeddah Tower is completed as per the company's vision, then it will surpass the height of Burj Khalifa (828 meters) and become the tallest building in the world and will soon find its name in the 'Guiness World Records'. Tap on the link to find out which are the Top 10 Tallest Buildings In The World.