Jeddah Tower will be the centerpiece of a new urban district.
The construction of the future tallest building on the planet is rapidly approaching an important milestone. The Saudi Jeddah Tower is confidently nearing the 100-floor mark, taking another step towards the planned completion of the project in 2028.
As of November last year, it was reported that the height of the tower had reached 69 floors. By the end of December, the engineering company Thornton Tomasetti confirmed that the building had surpassed the 80-floor threshold, and according to local residents, construction has already reached the 85th floor. If the current pace continues, the tower will surpass the 100-floor mark in the coming weeks, joining an elite club of about 25 buildings worldwide that have reached such heights.
However, there is still a long way to go. Architects from Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill (AS+GG) recently stated that the skyscraper will have at least 157 floors and will exceed a height of one kilometer in the Saudi port city of Jeddah. The exact final height has not yet been disclosed. As a result, the building will significantly surpass the current record holder, the Burj Khalifa, and will be almost twice the height of the tallest skyscraper in the U.S., One World Trade Center.
Inside the JEC Tower will be the highest observation deck in the world, as well as a luxury hotel, office spaces, and elite apartments. Two-story elevators will transport passengers at speeds of up to 10 meters per second — almost like a ride.
A total of 59 elevators are planned for the building, and the total area of the premises will be about 530,000 square meters.
Jeddah Tower will be the centerpiece of a new urban district. The project is being implemented under the guidance of Saudi Prince Al-Walid bin Talal Al Saud and has been in development for over ten years. In the past, construction was halted at the 60th floor and was frozen for several years; according to various reports, the delays were related to political purges initiated by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
This mega-skyscraper is just one of several large-scale "gigaprojects" being implemented in the oil-rich kingdom, which aims to become one of the largest tourist centers in the world. Among them are the futuristic project "The Line" and the giant complex "The Mukaab."
