Saudi Binladin Group to resume work on ‘world’s tallest tower’

Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), a Saudi conglomerate with interests in key sectors such as hotel management, real estate and equity, has announced that Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) will soon resume the construction work on the mega tower being developed as part of the Jeddah Economic Company City project.

The agreement with Saudi Binladin Group was sealed by Jeddah Economic Company (a subsidiary of KHC) at key ceremony held today (October 2).

On completion, the building is set to soar 1,000 m into the sky, beating the current record holder, 828-m-tall Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, thus making it the world’s tallest skyscraper.

Construction had begun in the early 2010s with SBG serving as the initial contractor for the superstructure. The initial phase saw approximately one-third of the superstructure complete. Germany’s Bauer had concluded the piling work for the tower, said Kingdom Holding Company in its filing to the Saudi bourse Tadawul.

The tower is being developed as part of the first phase of the 5.3-million-sq-m Jeddah Economic Company City. Currrently, work on 63 floors out of the total 157 have been completed.

The infrastructure development for the entire first phase, spanning 1.3 million sq m, has been executed, containing essential amenities such as electricity, water, sewage, flood drainage, and high-speed internet connectivity, it stated.

According to KHC, the total value of the contract is worth SAR7.2 billion ($1.96 billion) but of this around SAR1.1 billion has been already paid for works previously completed on the tower to Saudi Binladin Group.

With an anticipated construction period of 42 months. Jeddah Economic Company will finance remaining construction of the tower through internal funding and banking facilities, it added.