Jeddah Tower surpasses height of Petronas Towers

The Jeddah Tower, being constructed by Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) will eventually be 1km tall, making it the tallest building in the world.

But at less than half its planned height, it is now already taller than the Petronas Towers in Malaysia, which were the tallest buildings from 1998 until 2004, when they were surpassed by the Taipei 101 skyscraper.

The news was announced by SBG senior executive project director Ian Norman Miller, whose father led the concrete construction of the Petronas Towers.

Miller said that construction work on the Jeddah Tower is proceeding at the rate of one floor every five days. He also noted the involvement of Malaysia-based heavy lifting specialist Favelle Favco Cranes which was involved in the construction of the Petronas Towers, praising the company’s “operational agility”.

Miller said. “Today (1 September), I have the pride of celebrating our own success with my SBG team, with Jeddah Tower now eclipsing the height of Petronas Towers and becoming the 22nd tallest building in the world.

The three Favco cranes on top of the Jeddah Tower. Photo: Favelle Favco

“In the 30 years since Petronas, construction technology has improved dramatically, and a lot of the old limiting factors have been overcome.

“But one enormous challenge remains: hauling heavy loads up the enormous distance from the ground quickly, reliably and safely. And that gives Jeddah Tower another connection with Kuala Lumpur. We use the same crane company,” he said.

The flurry of construction activity around the Jeddah Tower comes after a long period of delay when there was uncertainty over where the building would ever be completed.

Previously known as the Kingdom Tower, the building was originally due for completion in 2020. But work halted in 2013 amid an anti-corruption probe led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, by which time the structure had reached 63 storeys.

The project remained stalled for a decade before developer, the Jeddah Economic Company, announced an official restart to works at the end of 2024. Contractor SBG was awarded a new contract worth 7.2 billion riyal (US$1.9 billion), with completion now scheduled for 2028.