TRANSFORMATION UNDER WAY

Jeddah's construction sector is experiencing a significant resurgence, driven by ambitious projects such as the Jeddah Tower and Jeddah Central Development as well as a focus on urban development in a bid to position the Red Sea port city as a global economic and cultural hub.

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A SURGE of optimism has swept through Jeddah's construction industry following the recent award of an SR7.2-billion ($1.9 billion) contract to resume work on the iconic Jeddah Tower, which once completed to its full height of 1 km, will claim the title of the world's tallest building.

The revival of this ambitious project has ignited hopes for the broader $20-billion Jeddah Economic City development, which has also been on hold for several years. As construction on the tower resumes, attention has turned to the potential revitalisation of this visionary project.

AN ICON SOARS AGAIN

CONSTRUCTION work on Jeddah Tower (previously known as Kingdom Tower) has resumed following the reappointment of Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) as the main contractor for the building which is set to soar 1,000 m into the sky, making it the world's tallest skyscraper beating the current record holder, the 828-m-tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

The agreement with SBG was signed in October by the developer of the project Jeddah Economic Company, a subsidiary of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) - a Saudi conglomerate with interests in key sectors such as hotel management, real estate and equity. As per the contract, the tower should be completed by April 2028.

According to KHC, the total value of the contract is SR7.2 billion ($1.96 billion) but of this around SR1.1 billion has been already paid to SBG for works previously completed on the tower.

Jeddah Economic Company will finance remaining construction of the tower through internal funding and banking facilities, it added.

Construction work on the Jeddah Tower had initially begun in 2009 with SBG serving as the contractor for the superstructure and was paused in 2018 due to the crackdown in Saudi Arabia.