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Work to resume on world’s tallest tower in Saudi Arabia

By Pramod Kumar
Construction of the Jeddah Economic Company Tower is expected to be completed in 42 months Alamy via Reuters
Construction of the Jeddah Economic Company Tower is expected to be completed in 42 months

Construction is to resume on the world’s tallest tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which will be over one kilometre high when completed.

Jeddah Economic Company (JEC), an associate of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) chaired by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, has reached an agreement with Saudi Binladin Group to continue developing the Jeddah Economic Company Tower, KHC said in a statement to the Saudi stock exchange on Wednesday.

So far, 63 of the planned 157 floors have been completed. Construction is slated to be completed in 42 months.

The total contract value is estimated at SAR7.2 billion ($2 billion), out of which SAR1.1 billion has already been paid for previous construction.

JEC will finance the remaining construction through internal funding and banking facilities.

The tower is part of the 1.3-million sq m first phase of the Jeddah Economic Company City, which spans 5.3 million sq m.

The infrastructure development for the entire first phase, covering 1.3 million sq m, including electricity, water, sewage, flood drainage networks and high-speed internet, has been completed.

In July, Kingdom Holding, Sumuo Holding Company and JEC signed an agreement to take ownership of the Al Inma Jeddah Economic Fund, which is currently wholly owned by JEC.

Construction of the Jeddah Economic Company Tower began in 2013, but progress has been sporadic because of controversy over the contractors.

Work was paused in 2017, after only a few dozen floors had been built, when Prince Alwaleed and his chosen contractor, Saudi Binladin Group, fell out of favour during an anti-corruption campaign. Prince Alwaleed has always maintained he was innocent of any wrongdoing.

JEC was formed in 2009 as a joint venture among real estate and development companies. It is composed of Kingdom Holding Company, Abrar Holding Company, Qila’a Jeddah Company and Saudi Binladin Group.

The 828-m-high Burj Khalifa in Dubai is currently the tallest building in the world.

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