Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building for more than a decade, may soon lose its record as new skyscraper projects in Saudi Arabia move forward. Standing at 828 metres, the landmark tower has dominated global height rankings since its completion in 2010. But two ambitious developments in Saudi Arabia — one already under construction and another in the planning stages — aim to surpass it.

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The most advanced of the projects is Jeddah Economic Company Tower, also known as JEC Tower, which is planned to exceed 1,000 metres in height. If completed as intended, the structure would become the first building to cross the one-kilometre mark and take the title from Dubai’s flagship skyscraper.

A second proposal, known as Rise Tower, has been outlined as part of a broader development in Riyadh. The project envisions a structure reaching two kilometres in height, though it remains at the design stage.

Jeddah tower construction resumes

Construction of the Jeddah Economic Company Tower has faced several interruptions since the project was first announced more than a decade ago.

Work resumed in 2025 after Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal announced the restart on social media. Shortly afterwards, Kingdom Holding Company confirmed that construction activity had officially resumed.

By March 2026, the tower had reportedly risen above its 91st floor, reaching approximately 370 metres. Construction is progressing on a five-day cycle for each floor, supported by an estimated workforce of around 5,200 people.

The skyscraper is designed to include luxury residential apartments, office space and commercial areas. Plans also feature a Four Seasons hotel and an observation deck offering views across the city of Jeddah and the Red Sea.

Glass façade installation has already begun as the building continues to rise.

Developers say the tower will form part of the first phase of Jeddah Economic Company City, a wider urban development project covering around 5.3 million square metres. The initial phase spans about 1.3 million square metres and includes core infrastructure such as electricity, water supply, sewage systems, flood drainage and high-speed internet.

The remaining construction costs — estimated at about 6 billion dirhams — are expected to be funded through internal financing and bank facilities.

Completion of the tower is currently projected for 2028.

Riyadh’s proposed “Rise Tower”

Alongside the Jeddah project, Saudi Arabia is also considering a far larger structure in Riyadh known as Rise Tower.

Global architectural firm HKS revealed concept designs for the building in 2025. Backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the proposal envisions a skyscraper reaching around two kilometres in height.

If realised, the structure would significantly surpass any existing building worldwide.

The planned tower would contain about 678 floors, with space allocated for luxury hotels, offices, restaurants and observation decks.

Rise Tower is intended to anchor a large master-planned development known as the North Pole project — a proposed “city of the future” covering roughly 306 square kilometres.

However, the project remains at the design stage and a construction timeline has not yet been confirmed.

Regional rivalry in supertall towers

Dubai may also be preparing a response to the challenge.

Reports in 2024 suggested that Emaar, the developer behind the Burj Khalifa, could be working on plans for another “super tower” in the city aimed at rivaling the existing record holder.

For now, the Burj Khalifa retains its position as the tallest structure ever built. But with construction advancing in Jeddah and ambitious plans emerging in Riyadh, the skyline record could soon shift to Saudi Arabia.

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Adapted by ASEAN Now. Source 24 April 2026

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My camel is bigger than yours !

Does this have something to do with "being closer to God" ?

2 minutes ago, bendejo said:

Does this have something to do with "being closer to God" ?

Probably.

Symbols of too much money and that money being pissed away instead of being used to help people.

Can't you see the desert sands blowing through the lobby, the abandoned Maybachs in the dunes outside?

Cultures build monuments to their greatness, while dying cultures mock them..,

Nice to see Chicago's Adrian Smith was picked for it.

We built a lot of product for Burj Khalifa at our Thailand plant, and I'm sure we'll build a lot more for Jeddah Tower.

Just think of all the jobs that the project and subsequent facility will generate and how many lives will be improved as a result.

18 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Symbols of too much money and that money being pissed away instead of being used to help people.

Can't you see the desert sands blowing through the lobby, the abandoned Maybachs in the dunes outside?

My first thought was about what will happen when the people who know how to fix elevators go back to their home countries.

1 minute ago, bendejo said:

My first thought was about what will happen when the people who know how to fix elevators go back to their home countries.

Like all the roughnecks?

Another crazy project like the LINE:

https://en.as.com/latest_news/twist-in-the-megaproject-the-line-the-170-km-city-in-saudi-arabia-those-responsible-have-new-plans-f202510-n/

Last I heard of it , it didn't go that well.

You're not getting me in those high towers.

An off topic deflection post about California's "High Speed Rail" debacle and the replies have been removed.

2 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Symbols of too much money and that money being pissed away instead of being used to help people.

Saudi's free health care, excellent educational system, and zero income tax seem pretty good.

Look at those in say America, and then the money they're pi$$ing away constantly bombing people around the world without actually ever winning.

I'm sure that Tom Cruise will still look 20 when sitting on top of the 1,000m+ tall JEC Tower though.

Say what?

Pure HUBRIS.

These towers will, inevitably, come tumbling down.

They will become useless, even before that.

Still in operation after 130 years:

Still in operation after 95 years:

2 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Cultures build monuments to their greatness, while dying cultures mock them..,

Nice to see Chicago's Adrian Smith was picked for it.

We built a lot of product for Burj Khalifa at our Thailand plant, and I'm sure we'll build a lot more for Jeddah Tower.

Just think of all the jobs that the project and subsequent facility will generate and how many lives will be improved as a result.

Sounds like short-term, disposable gains, Yag. The Middle East imports hundreds of thousands of debt-slaves from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan. Those are the guys who will be doing the grunt-work.

And when the tower's built, what they got out of it will be a few years' employment.

And how will any of these towers "improve people's lives"? Rather, they solidify class distinctions between the rich and the poor. Stay at a Four Seasons in India and walk outside through hundreds of beggars who get beaten away by security guards. Do they see any of that improvement?

Big towers for guys with small dicks...but lotsa money to throw away.

4 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Still in operation after 130 years:

Still in operation after 95 years:

Still inhabited after over 3000 years:

Very low maintenance.

Sustainable.

Low energy use.

Comfortably in any weather.

No need to live in a box in the sky, dependent on scary elevators.

And no sand blowing around all the time.

Nothing but clean air.

1 minute ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Sounds like short-term, disposable gains, Yag. The Middle East imports hundreds of thousands of debt-slaves from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan. Those are the guys who will be doing the grunt-work.

And when the tower's built, what they got out of it will be a few years' employment.

And what would they have if not for the project?

They live in company housing, save money, and or send it back to their families.

1 minute ago, unblocktheplanet said:

And how will any of these towers "improve people's lives"? Rather, they solidify class distinctions between the rich and the poor. Stay at a Four Seasons in India and walk outside through hundreds of beggars who get beaten away by security guards. Do they see any of that improvement?

Over 10,000 people will live, work and or visit the building every day. Will their lives not be improved? I do not remember any beggars when I worked in Saudi or the UAE.

1 minute ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Big towers for guys with small dicks...but lotsa money to throw away.

Says the guy with no tower and small money.

Again, great cultures build monuments to their greatness, while dying cultures mock them..,

ALL the guys in the ME are clearly IDIOTS, as we have seen so clearly in recent years, and in this year of 2026, particularly.

THESE NITWITS continue to fight over land that is basically WORTHLESS, or will become worthless in a very few short years.

The IGNORANCE in Arabia is palpable.

Maybe they think they can just face toward MECCA, say a few prayers...and then....

GLOBAL WARMING in their area will disappear forever.

The fact is that the ME is warming 50% FASTER than temperate areas in the northern hemisphere.

WHAT NINCOMPOOPS these people are.

2 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

ALL the guys in the ME are clearly IDIOTS, as we have seen so clearly in recent years, and in this year of 2026, particularly.

THESE NITWITS continue to fight over land that is basically WORTHLESS, or will become worthless in a very few short years.

The IGNORANCE in Arabia is palpable.

Maybe they think they can just face toward MECCA, say a few prayers...and then....

GLOBAL WARMING in their area will disappear forever.

The fact is that the ME is warming 50% FASTER than temperate areas in the northern hemisphere.

WHAT NINCOMPOOPS these people are.

so they should all move to the EU?

2 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

so they should all move to the EU?

Good Idea.

The EU is already completely lost to Africa, as I have previously mentioned.

Partially due to global warming.

towers within range of Iranian missiles

2 minutes ago, papa al said:

towers within range of Iranian missiles

Desalination plants within range of Iranian missiles, or anyone else's missles.

The desert is a fragile ecosystem, for humans, at least.

Saudi's free health care, excellent educational system, and zero income tax seem pretty good.

Maybe, but they're a one trick pony. If they run out of oil, or the market for oil tanks, they'll be in a world of hurt because they invested in grand projects instead of useful projects.

There's a school of thought that free healthcare, no tax and education are the equivalent of bread and circuses, to keep the populace in line. Also known as societal extortion...

How'd that work out for the Romans?

Five years ago, China began banning tall building construction.

As of this date, the policy seems to still stand.

Anyway, you gotta have respect for the Chinese who can actually design and build their own buildings.....COMPARED TO.....

Those desert dwellers who can do almost NOTHING for themselves, maybe besides figure out how to use a toilet roll, if they are among the more intelligent of their neighbors.

China's culture is great, and has always been great.

The "culture" in Arabia....by comparison.....???

Maybe, not so much.

Still, the guys of Arabia seem to love their sand, and one can only wonder why.

Their entire strategy is not sustainable.

Water scarcity is a factor.

Also, rising temperatures.

LOUSY EDUCATION levels

So much more that is just so......depressing.

They are living on borrowed time.

They only live there due to the petroleum wealth that started this disaster.

Fortunately, the disaster that is the ME will prove EPHEMERAL, and what will remain, in due time.....????

3 hours ago, FlorC said:

Another crazy project like the LINE:

https://en.as.com/latest_news/twist-in-the-megaproject-the-line-the-170-km-city-in-saudi-arabia-those-responsible-have-new-plans-f202510-n/

Last I heard of it , it didn't go that well.

You're not getting me in those high towers.

Here are just a few of the many valid reasons why the society there is NOT sustainable:

But, the fools that rule cannot see.....YET......

31 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Here are just a few of the many valid reasons why the society there is NOT sustainable:

Why do you have to keep posting page after page of AI nonsense?

If you have to rely on so called AI to "prove" your crap why not just post a link to it with a short introduction?

Are you not capable of expressing your own opinions or thoughts without all the fake unproven garbage that you constantly spout forth?

1 minute ago, scottiejohn said:

Why do you have to keep posting page after page of AI nonsense?

Are you not capable of expressing your own opinions or thoughts without all the fake unproven garbage that you constantly spout forth?

Why are you discussing members and not the topic?

11 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Why are you discussing members and not the topic?

Well, I, for one, am discussing the Topic, which I consider to be rather important, particularly at this time when we are teetering between sustainability and oblivion.

And, one must ask oneself the question: Does one view the pursuit of architectural height as a purely material endeavor, or should one consider it an inevitable expression of human psychological drives toward transcendence, IDIOCY, and NITWITTERY?

I have already answered this question, just from my own experience and perspective.

However, there are a few important points that might also be considered, when thinking about HOPE vs HUBRIS.....

It should be fairly obvious, even to the less intelligent among us, that DEMOCRACY could go a long way to solving the world's problems, especially these construction examples which are....

LUDICROUS in nature.

What we really need, I suppose, is a REVOLUTION in the ME, where DEMOCRACY is given full reign, and where these PUPPETS are pulled down off their PEDESTALS, PDQ....

Just my humble opinion.

BUT, whatever happens: I DO NOT EXPECT to find HEAVEN ON EARTH, in the ME....EVER.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Well, I, for one, am discussing the Topic, which I consider to be rather important, particularly at this time when we are teetering between sustainability and oblivion.

And, one must ask oneself the question: Does one view the pursuit of architectural height as a purely material endeavor, or should one consider it an inevitable expression of human psychological drives toward transcendence, IDIOCY, and NITWITTERY?

I have already answered this question, just from my own experience and perspective.

However, there are a few important points that might also be considered, when thinking about HOPE vs HUBRIS.....

It should be fairly obvious, even to the less intelligent among us, that DEMOCRACY could go a long way to solving the world's problems, especially these construction examples which are....

LUDICROUS in nature.

What we really need, I suppose, is a REVOLUTION in the ME, where DEMOCRACY is given full reign, and where these PUPPETS are pulled down off their PEDESTALS, PDQ....

Just my humble opinion.

BUT, whatever happens: I DO NOT EXPECT to find HEAVEN ON EARTH, in the ME....EVER.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Actually the topic is the great, new Jeddah Tower project, not the regurgitation of lame AI idiocy.

10 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Actually the topic is the great, new Jeddah Tower project, not the regurgitation of lame AI idiocy.

Well, if you need an answer, the answer to the Topic is....YES...of course.

But, just a YES or NO answer seems less interesting than the comments of mine, so far.

5 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Well, if you need an answer, the answer to the Topic is....YES...of course.

But, just a YES or NO answer seems less interesting than the comments of mine, so far.

Don't take it personally, but pages of regurgitated AI idiocy are not interesting to anyone not regurgitating it.