An IMGlobalWealth.news Report
The world’s tallest building-to-be is also a conspicuous statement of confidence in Saudi Arabia’s development ambitions.
At 430 metres and 107 floors, Jeddah Tower has become one of the most conspicuous construction sites on the Red Sea. If completed above 1,000 metres, it will overtake Dubai’s 828-metre Burj Khalifa as the world’s tallest building.
The latest milestone was announced by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding; project engineer Thornton Tomasetti had already confirmed that the structure passed 100 floors in April.
The tower is less a new project than a revived wager. Construction began in 2013 but stalled in 2018. In October 2024, Jeddah Economic Company signed a SAR7.2bn, roughly $1.9bn, agreement with Saudi Binladin Group to resume the work. The figure includes approximately SAR1.1bn already paid for earlier construction, with the remaining programme scheduled over 42 months. That points towards completion in 2028, although the history of megaprojects counsels caution.
Designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, with structural engineering by Thornton Tomasetti, the tower will contain about 530,000 square metres of built space. Plans include offices, a luxury hotel, serviced apartments, high-end homes and a viewing platform on the 157th floor. Its vertical-transport system is designed around 59 lifts, some travelling at more than ten metres a second.
Yet its significance now extends beyond architecture. Jeddah faces the Red Sea at a moment when the Middle East war has disrupted shipping, curtailed Saudi oil exports and weakened confidence. Recent Houthi attacks have also threatened Saudi vessels and energy infrastructure along the Red Sea coast.
The IMF expects Saudi growth to slow to 1.7% in 2026, although domestic demand, government spending and the continuing execution of capital projects should support activity. Against that background, pouring concrete towards the clouds is an unusually visible vote of confidence.
IMFJeddah Tower is intended as the commercial anchor of a 5.3m-square-metre urban development, rather than merely a record-breaking monument.
Skyscrapers are part engineering and part theatre. This one is both: a one-kilometre declaration that Saudi Arabia intends to keep building despite the dangers surrounding it.
Whether investors, residents and businesses share that conviction will determine whether it becomes the centre of a new district, or simply the world’s tallest expression of ambition.
