Saudi’s $1.6bn Kingdom Tower Set for December 2018 Completion

The Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia, which will be the world’s tallest tower at 1,008 metres, is set for a December 2018 completion, announced Mounib Hammoud, CEO of Jeddah Economic Company.

The raft foundation of the SAR6 billion ($1.6 billion) tower, the largest in the world, will be completed in August 2014, he revealed at a conference in Dubai.

“It is the largest concrete raft in the world. In places, the thickness is five metres,” said Hammoud.

A new commercial centre, which will be located north of Jeddah, will house the tower. It will also include residential and commercial buildings,a mall and a large mosque that can accomodate 12,000 worshippers. The first phase of the commercial center will be 1.4m square metres.

Mace will manage the development in a joint venture with construction consultant EC Harris, part of Dutch group Arcadis, and the tower will be built by Saudi construction firm Bin Laden Group.

BNP Paribas is advising the company on its finances, also assisting with the loan is local Alinma Bank. The bank will fund the developer until revenues from sales of land at Jeddah Economic City begin.

If completed, the Kingdom Tower will replace Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, 828 metres tall, as the highest in the world.