It was in 2017 when the construction work on the ambitious Jeddah Tower project in Saudi Arabia mysteriously came to an abrupt halt. Touted to become the world’s tallest building at over 1,000 meters in height, the project site has mostly remained deserted for the last six years. However, the Jeddah Economic Company (JEC) has finally announced the resumption of work on the megaproject, with the developers initiating the process of accepting bids from contractors for the project’s completion. A total of 14 local and international firms have been invited to bid for the contract and the deadline for the same has been set for the end of this year.
JEC launched an impartial assessment of the existing structure of the Jeddah Tower before issuing the tender. Originally named the Kingdom Tower, the megaproject was announced in 2008 by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. The construction began in the early 2010s with the local Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) as the contractor and the architectural work being taken care of by US-based firm Adrian Smith & Gordon Gill.
The piling work for the tower was skillfully executed by Germany’s Bauer, reports Construction Week. By 2017, one-third of the tower was completed before the ground to a mysterious and sudden halt. Only 63 of the 252 floors planned have been constructed so far. While SBG is no more involved in the project, the consulting teams involved remain unchanged.
Once completed, the Jeddah Tower will become the world’s tallest building, dwarfing Dubai’s Burj Khalifa by a rather impressive 172 meters in height. Just to give some context, the 1 kilometer-tall tower would be at least the equivalent of three Eiffel Towers stacked one above the other. Back in 2008 when the project was announced, the tower was estimated to cost around $1.3 billion, making it marginally cheaper than the Burj Khalifa which cost $1.5 billion. Meant to serve as the centerpiece of the Jeddah Economic City development, the Jeddah Tower will also be home to the highest observation deck ever constructed along with other amenities, including shopping malls, luxury boutiques, gourmet restaurants, tennis courts, and more.
