Jeddah Tower works get a $165m boost

Dubai : The world’s tallest skyscraper in Jeddah will soon begin its infrastructure works with the signing of a 620 million riyal ($165 million) contract by real estate developers. 

Once completed, the massive mixed-use tower will rise over a kilometre (3,281 feet) dwarfing the Burj Khalifa, which is over 828 meters, by 177 meters or 580 feet. 

The contract was awarded to Al-Fouzan General Contracting Co and the work is to be finished within 12 months, Jeddah Economic Co, the consortium behind the project, said in a statement carried by Reuters. 

Originally projected to cost $1.2 billion, the project, according to an earlier statement, will be finished by 2020 to become the first structure to reach the one-kilometre-high mark. 

The project, formerly known as Kingdom Tower, was developed by Jeddah Economic Co as part of the Jeddah Economic City project which overlooks the Red sea. Jeddah Economic City is a commercial and residential project of 57 million square feet (5.3 million square meters), that will feature homes, hotels and offices, as well as tourist attractions.

According to inhabitant.com, the projected world’s tallest building will require 80,000 tons of steel and 5.7 million square feet of concrete specially engineered to withstand the saltwater of the nearby ocean. 

Jeddah Economic Company, has confirmed to CNN that the project will be completed by 2020, as scheduled.

“As of 2020, we’ll start seeing things: you’ll see the tower, you’ll see the shopping mall, you’ll see many other projects,” CNN quoted Mounib Hammoud, CEO of Jeddah Economic Company as saying.

Inspired by folding leaves 

The tapered tower, reportedly inspired by the folded leaves of a desert plant, will change its shape every few floors to mitigate the effect of high winds. 

The design, created by American architect Adrian Smith, who also designed Burj Khalifa, incorporates many unique structural and aesthetic features. 

The tower reportedly will have a gross floor area of 2.6 million square feet (243,866 square meters) over 252 stories, and the world’s highest observation deck at 2,178 feet (664 meters) off the ground, with a 5,382 square feet (500 square meter) outdoor platform.

It will also house a five-star Four Seasons Hotel and 97 affiliated serviced apartments, and offices on seven floors. There will also be four “residential tiers” that will include 325 apartments.

“An estimated 59 elevators will service the building; the observatory elevator will travel at a speed of 10 meters per second,” a report by inhabitant said. 

“When you first arrive at the tower, you are already 20 meters above sea level,” Hammoud told CNN adding: “Therefore, it’s like every floor is a different experience (in) that building.”

In a recent statement to Gulf News, Hammoud confirmed that land will be available and ready for development by local and international investors with all support services and utilities that includes: state-of-the-art infrastructure, district cooling, gas networks, streets furnishing and finishing, generous public open spaces, gardens and other elements of an environmentally friendly smart city. 

He added: “The project offers the tallest tower in the world, a sustainable mixed-use environment, residential apartments for most budgets, a tourism retail and leisure destination and a business center. Jeddah Economic City Project will anchor the growth of Jeddah and will offer thousands of job opportunities for young Saudis in various fields.”

Jeddah Tower’s construction fits into Saudi Vision 2030, a government plan that aims to diversify the economy in the kingdom and reduce its dependence on oil.