Rising high into Saudi sky: World's new tallest skyscraper progresses

Following a report at the start of this year, more details have been revealed on what is arguably the world's most ambitious architecture project: the mind-bogglingly tall JEC Tower, which is currently rising in Saudi Arabia.

Previously known as both the Kingdom Tower and Jeddah Tower, the JEC Tower (Jeddah Economic Company Tower) is currently being built in the Saudi port city of Jeddah and is led by Saudi Prince Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud.

The megatall's final height has not yet been made public, however architect AS+GG (Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill) has reconfirmed that it will exceed 1 km (0.62 miles). This will make it significantly taller than the current world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. It would also make it almost twice the height of the USA's tallest skyscraper, the One World Trade Center, and over three times the height of Western Europe's tallest skyscraper, the Shard.

Once complete, the JEC Tower will include 59 elevators and at least 157 floors. It will also boast the world's highest observation point, as well as a luxury hotel, lots of office space, and some luxurious residences fit for a Saudi prince or two.

Though construction on the project did restart in January after a long hiatus, as reported by Newsweek, work has now ramped up on the site in earnest, and the building's central core has reached floor 69, with its flanking wings lagging roughly five floors behind. Approximately 50% of the concrete required has now been poured in this massive project. Additionally, AS+GG has shared a photo taken on the site in November of the current progress, as shown in the top image.

Though there's still a lot of work to do, the firm has also reconfirmed that the 2028 expected completion date is still in place and narrowed it down to August, so we can expect some more major updates over the coming year.

Source: AS+GG