Commercial Projects

Inside Saudi Arabia’s Plan to Build 2km Tall Skyscraper

The proposed skyscraper will be built at a cost of $5 billion.

Updated on

December 19, 2022

Saudi Arabia is planning to build a 2km tall skyscraper in Riyadh as the Kingdom seeks to actualize its Vision 2030 goals with a series of ambitious giga-projects.

According to a report by MEED magazine, the record-breaking tower will be built as part of an 18 sq. km project that is planned to the north of the capital city.

The report further said that the yet-to-be-named skyscraper will be funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) to the tune of $5 billion, based on quotes by contractors who have previously priced supertall buildings in the region.

At 6,561 feet (2,000 metres), the tower is expected to overthrow Dubai’s Burj Khalifa (2,720 feet – 828 metres) from its position as the world’s tallest building.

A design competition with a participation fee of $1 million is reportedly underway for the mega-tall tower, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

Eight firms have been invited to participate in the design competition.

“The stalwarts include US-based firms Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), Adrian Smith & Gordon Gill Architecture, Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), and Gensler; 10Design, which is part of France’s Egis; and Dubai-based Killa Design, responsible for the fantastic and award-winning Museum of the future,” MEED said.

A site just west of King Khalid International Airport, one of the world’s largest airports – rechristened King Salman International Airport – has been identified and EY has conducted a feasibility study.

Tourist destination

The new development joins a series of giga-projects that are either coming up or planned in various parts of Saudi Arabia as part of a highly ambitious drive to transform the Kingdom into a tourist, entertainment and adventure destination.

Others include Neom, The Mirror Line, Red Sea Project, Diriyah, Qiddiya, Asir, and King Salman Airport – all of which are expected to enhance the image of the Kingdom.

While all of the above giga-projects are astounding, Neom and The Line are exceedingly incredible in their scale and magnificence.

Neom – the Kingdom’s flagship project that was unveiled in 2017 – is a $500 billion futuristic city that is underway in Saudi Arabia’s arid northwest.

The 26,500 sq. km development, which is due for completion in 2026, will be a zero-carbon megacity that will be powered entirely by renewable clean energy – thereby providing a model for sustainable living and development.

Neom will include a floating industrial and commercial hub that will incorporate the most advanced technologies; from artificial intelligence to robotics – all powered entirely by clean renewable energy.

170 km long skyscraper

Set inside the Neom megacity, The Mirror Line is a project consisting of two towers up to 500 metres tall and 200 metres wide running parallel for 170 km in a line across coastal, mountain and desert terrain, connected via walkways.

The narrow design is intended to reduce the man-made footprint on the landscape and promote efficiency within the city which will host about 9 million people.

The Mirror Line will be a roadless city – free of cars and emissions, offering a new approach to urban design that will operate on 100% renewable energy.

Within its mirrored, car-free walls, residents will be whisked around in underground trains and electric air taxis.

Recent satellite images of the Neom project obtained by MIT Technology Review revealed that The Line’s gigantic linear building is already taking shape – running across the deserts and through the mountains of northern Saudi Arabia.

“They are going for something that has never been done before,” says Javier Quintana de Uña, CEO of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

Jeddah Tower

It remains to be seen whether or not the 2km skyscraper will materialise considering that Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal had in 2011 announced a similar plan to build the world’s tallest building in Jeddah.

Indeed, construction of the 1,008-metre Jeddah Tower got underway about a decade ago but stalled after the structure reached the 70th storey.

Efforts to revive the project have not yielded any fruit as firms are reluctant to take on liabilities from contractors and consultants who worked on the tower.