Work on the world’s tallest skyscraper in Jeddah picked up pace after resuming construction in January 2025, ending a seven-year break. Jeddah Tower has now completed 80 floors and is on track to become the first building to reach one kilometre in height by 2028.

Saudi Arabia's Jeddah Tower, featuring 168 floors, will host residential, office, and hotel space as well as shopping facilities and an observation deck at 652 metres. It is projected to be over 3,281 feet tall, surpassing Dubai's Burj Khalifa, which is currently the world's tallest building at more than 2,700 feet.

When the Burj Khalifa opened in 2010, its 828-metre height seemed untouchable. Now, Jeddah Tower, designed by Adrian Smith + Gill Gordon Architecture, is all set to rewrite the record books.

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From Kingdom Tower to Jeddah Tower

The skyscraper was announced in 2011, and work on its foundation began in late 2013. Construction stopped for a while in 2018 due to major delays.

Originally conceived as Kingdom Tower, the project is the centrepiece of Jeddah Economic City, a 57-million-square-foot mixed-use development designed to transform the Red Sea coast into a global hub.

In 2015, the tower was renamed Jeddah Tower to match its location and help boost the city’s reputation. The old name, Kingdom Tower, was also changed to avoid confusion with Kingdom Center, a skyscraper in Riyadh.

Restarting Jeddah Tower construction

After years of delays, construction resumed in January 2025 under a SR7.2 billion contract with Saudi Binladin Group. Progress has been rapid — by December 2025, the tower had crossed the 80-floor mark, and engineers are now adding a floor every 3-4 days.

Thornton Tomasetti, the structural engineering firm behind the project, expects the 100th floor milestone by February 2026. Completion is targeted for August 2028.

After the 80th-floor completion, Talal Ibrahim Al Maiman, CEO of the Jeddah Economic Company (JEC), said, "Jeddah Tower will serve as a beacon of innovation and a catalyst for growth... Today's progress represents the realisation of a vision that was years in the making."

Engineering feats

• 59 ultra-high-speed elevators by Kone, including five double-deckers traveling at 10 m/s




• A Y-shaped structural core for stability against wind and seismic forces




• The 3-petal footprint and the tapering wings produce an aerodynamic shape that helps reduce structural loading due to wind vortex shedding




• Height: More than 3,280 feet with around 130+ storeys

Expected to cost $1.2 billion to construct, the tower was designed by Adrian Smith while at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

The great height of Jeddah Tower necessitates one of the world’s most sophisticated elevator systems. The Jeddah Tower complex will contain 59 elevators, including 54 single-deck and five double-deck elevators, along with 12 escalators. Elevators serving the observatory will travel at a rate of 10 meters per second in both directions.

Another unique feature of the design is a sky terrace, roughly 30 meters (98 feet) in diameter, at level 157. The sky terrace will be open to the public and will be considered the world’s highest observatory once opened.

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