Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia has transcended a major milestone, going over 80 floors, and is on its way to outstripping the Burj Khalifa in Dubai as the tallest skyscraper in the world. The largest on the planet in terms of height, the tower-complete city is on the brink of rewriting the rules of height, engineering, and urban life across the globe.
With the total height to be more than 1,000 meters, the future structure will be taller than the Burj Khalifa by nearly 200 meters. Thus, if the plan is executed as per the specifications, it will be the first human-made structure to span a full kilometer skywards.
The project is a game-changer for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the construction is part of the Jeddah Economic City, and the development of the city is in line with the 2030 Vision. The paradigm shift is described by the Vision 2030 which aims at the concentration of the city as a world tourism hub, business destination, and a residence to high-income people, while the population loses its dependence on the oil industry.
What is important?
– Estimated height: Probably the tallest building in the world, standing over 1,000 meters high, in an area of about 57 million square feet that is part of a master plan.
– Number of stories: At least 130 levels.
– Timeline: The construction was slowed down and delayed, but it was accelerated from the middle of 2024 to the end of 2025, and the approximate date of the tower’s completion is around 2028.
– Vertical mobility: It was planned to have a total of 71 means of vertical transportation, including 59 elevators and 12 escalators.
– Program: The tower will accommodate luxury hotels, premium homes with stunning views of the Red Sea, offices for big companies, all types of restaurants, and stores.
– Experience: Guests will be able to visit the highest observation platform in the world.
The tower is being worked on by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture that also created the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. The whole team except for a few new engineers is working on engineering methods that are much advanced and thus will easily handle the wind, heat, and structural stress in such extreme heights.
The high rise building went beyond the height of 80 floors in December 2025 as proclaimed by the structural engineer Thornton Tomasetti. Additionally, the company said that the final height of the building would be more than 1,000 meters, setting a new record for the tallest building under construction in the class of skyscrapers.
Stability for a structure on this scale would need an aerodynamic shape that would slowly change as it moves upwards, thus the least possible wind resistance. The huge load of the building vertically will be laid on the stiff core of reinforced concrete and steel which in turn will be spread over the whole production site through a very deep foundation.
Smart controls would play an important role in both the energy and maintenance areas. The region’s harsh climate is one of the main reasons to the tower’s usage of energy-efficient and technologically advanced systems in the facades and throughout the building’s environment. Through the incorporation of smart controls, it will be possible to lower cooling and lighting expenses at the same time as keeping the level of safety high.
The factor that will mainly dictate the quality of the service that the tower gives to its users is the vertical transportation element. The usage of the world’s fastest elevators that will cut travel time between hotels, offices, retail zones, and the observation deck down to nothing is set to happen. The peak flow of people can be managed with the help of the destination dispatch and the zoned shafts.
The actual construction work was started in 2009 but due to some drastic changes in the labor force and the political scene, it was prematurely halted in 2018. However, the reigning in of the building of the tower is now being looked at as a signal of the developing trend for the project and the broader ambitions that the Kingdom has for its skyline.
Robert Forest, a partner at AS+GG, quoted, ‘Construction activities have increased and the mood on the project site is quite lively. The whole team is motivated and very much committed to meeting the project goal.’
The tower is intended for mixed-use, which is the current trend for the market that is looking for highly-integrated developments with a variety of amenities. The residents, corporate tenants, and visiting guests alike would experience and benefit from a full-service vertical community with its mix of hotel, lifestyle, and hospitality offerings, not to mention that it is the viewing platform with Global Views.
Apart from its claim as a landmark, Jeddah Tower portrays a promise. It emphasizes Saudi Arabia’s effort to draw in investments, skilled labour, and tourists through audacious city-building plans that are in line with Vision 2030.
The race to build the tallest structure is getting fiercer. In connection with Jeddah Tower, the Kingdom has offered proposals like a Trump-branded tower in Jeddah and the $5 billion Rise Tower in Riyadh, which is said to be aimed at the 2-kilometer mark.
The most important thing now is the delivery. Pay attention to the key milestones for the top-out, the progress of facade installation, and the commissioning of the elevator system. The leasing rate for the hotel component, residential component, and office component will also be a soft indicator of the market sentiment at the highest end.
Looking at the current schedule, 2028 is going to be the year when the title of the tallest skyscraper in the world moves from Dubai to Jeddah. The building, which is estimated to be one of the most impressive on the planet, will serve as a focal point for urban development giving a whole new meaning to the word ‘vertical’.
