Featured Image Credit: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
It feels like it's been ages since a new tallest building in the world took the crown - Dubai's Burj Khalifa has been standing tall for a while now.
That skyscraper was finished in 2010, but its days are numbered thanks to a new tower being built by Saudi Arabia.
The Jeddah Tower is under construction in Jeddah (as you'd probably expect), and it's going to measure an astonishing 3,281 feet when it's finally finished, quite a chunk taller than the Burj Khalifa's 2,720 feet.
There's no public budget for the tower, but it's a pretty safe assumption that it'll cost a huge amount to build.
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Construction on the Jeddah Tower first started back in 2013, not long after the Burj Khalifa opened, and you can imagine that Saudi Arabia might have been motivated by the instant fame of that tower, which has become iconic and recognizable, frequently featuring in big movies.
Since the design was confirmed, though, the project has been hit by a whole heap of delays over the years, including multiple complete pauses - from 2018 to late 2023 nothing happened on it at all, with the pandemic in the middle of that period playing no small role.
In September 2023, though, construction resumed, and it's apparently progressing well, with images from the region on social media showing it slowly but surely climbing into the sky.
However, if you're hoping to get a sense of when the tower will be completed, there's no official timeline to help you out.
Projects of this size, after all, are often delayed way past their initial targets, so the brains behind the Jeddah Tower might be quite sensibly keeping their plans to themselves until they're right in front of the finish line.
Jeddah is Saudi Arabia's second most populous city, and it can expect a pretty sizeable boost in profile once the tower is finished, not that this is the only extravagant building in a city overflowing with wealth.
The new skyscraper is also one of a wide range of astonishing projects that Saudi Arabia has embarked upon in recent years, including the enormous The Line, a linear city that will cost billions to construct and will apparently be 170km long when it's finished.
That project, though, has reportedly hit major issues recently. So, whether it's a world-leading skyscraper or a futuristic city, it's clear that even all the money in the world can't guarantee you quick progress on mega-projects such as these.
