Project / Tender - Complete Information

This project will be located in Obhur, just outside of the port city Jeddah and cover an area of 5.3 million square meters. It will comprise (439) apartments, (200) hotel rooms, (59) elevators and (2,205) parking spaces. On completion, this tower is expected to replace the 828-metre Burj Khalifa, formerly Burj Dubai, as the world's tallest building. The building will have 12 million cubic feet of space for offices, a hotel and residential units. Its floor area will be a staggering 38 million square feet. The height will take an elevator 12 minutes to get to the top. The complex will contain (59) elevators, including five double-deck elevators. An 8.9-square-mile city will also be built around this tower, which can accommodate 80,000 people and an additional one million visitors. Client Contact: Mr. Talal Al Miman (Project In-Charge). 

It is understood that the project is still on hold indefinitely.

 

Project work is currently on hold.

 

Works on this tower have been currently delayed as issues with the contractors mount. The developer might consider moving on to a different contractor for the tower if the issues with the current one doesn’t get resolved. Infrastructure works for the project will be completed in the next two to three months. 

Construction works are currently underway on this development. 

Infrastructure development work at the site is ongoing and expected to be complete by the middle of next year. Completion timeline pushed back to 2020. 

Orange Business Services has signed a smart city consulting agreement with Jeddah Economic Company (JEC). Under the agreement, Orange will create a blueprint for the ICT infrastructure of the 1km-tall tower. The scope will extend from the planning and design phases up to construction and operations. The construction of infrastructure is going according to the set time-frame, along with the supply of utilities. Next year, land for development will be ready for investors to start construction. 

Construction has reached the 63rd floor, with shelling and cladding work to be completed next year. 

A strategic plan for the progress of this tower has been approved by the board of directors of Alinma Jeddah Economic City Fund (The Fund). The board meeting set the dates of signing the electric power and the hotel management contracts for the project. 

Local Al-Fouzan Trading & General Construction Company has been awarded a $165.3 million contract to carry out infrastructure works on this development. Work will be completed within (12) months. 

Guardian Glass has reportedly won the contract to supply the façade glass for the tower. Guardian Glass will provide more than 400,000 m2 of aesthetic and functional glass panels that meet the tower’s energy and performance requirements. will supply a custom-made, double-pane glass system combining Guardian Glass’ SunGuard Silver 20 and SunGuard Neutral 60 coated glass products. The technology is able of withstanding a 2.5-meter radius sway without breakage or leakage. 

52nd level structural works are in progress. Test cladding has been installed. Partition works are also underway. 

The first stage of this project is due to be completed by 2019 after solving the financial issues with contractor Saudi Binladin Group. Final height of the building would not be revealed even to project partners until six months before its completion, when the size of the spire at the top will also be revealed. The tower is expected to progress slowly and steadily. Construction of the tower will rely on cutting-edge technology, including the high-strength reinforced concrete and pumps used to elevate it to record heights. The tower currently stands 220 meters tall and 50 floor high. The central core containing elevator shafts and stairwells has reached Level 50. 

Concrete works have reached until 49th level of the tower. 

44th level concrete works are in progress. 

Concrete precast and electrical works have commenced along with structure. 

42nd level core structure is in progress. 

The construction team working on this project has completed the podium structure and reached the 40th vertical floor. The developer is looking to get back up to speed after funding issues with contractor Saudi Binladin Group caused delays. The tower is now due for completion by end of 2019, 12 months later than originally planned. The final height of this tower would not be revealed until six months before its completion, when the size of the spire at the top will also be revealed. 

37th level core structure is in progress on this tower. 

35th level form works are in progress. 

Jeddah Economic Company and Local Alinma Investment have established a $2.24 billion fund that will be used to finance the completion of the tower. The Alinma Jeddah Economic City Fund is a Shari-compliant fund that will operate under the Saudi Arabian Capital Market Authority (CMA). Alinma Bank will finance the fund that will be managed by Alinma Investment. It is understood that construction works have reached upto 26th level of the tower. 

It is understood that the main contractor, Saudi Binladin Group, is using Schwing Stetter equipment to provide the concrete for this tower, as it rises towards its eventual height of more than 1,000 meters. The contractor is employing two dedicated on-site Stetter HN 3.0 batching plants to produce the concrete necessary for this mega project in order to avoid potential delays in concrete supply. Meanwhile, (4 Nos.) Schwing SP 8800 D stationary pumps with 450kW in engine power each and a maximum feed pressure of up to 243 bar are available for high-rise pumping of the concrete. As the project's height tests the limits of current pumping technology, a further concrete pump will be installed at a height of 400 meters to continue the transport of concrete up to the higher floors. For placing the concrete, Saudi Binladin Group is using five Schwing concrete placing booms (SPB), with three SPB 35 and two SPB 30 booms, for placing the mix up to a height of over 950 meters. A high-performance, self-compacting concrete (SCC) C85 is being used for the first and second construction phases up to a height of approximately 400 meters, while for the third phase, continuing on to 675 meters, a similar high-performance concrete will be used but with a lower compressive strength. A comprehensive pumping trial was required on site prior to the start of the project to optimize the concrete mixture, because the existing models were not reliable for the project's scale. 

22nd level structural works are in progress. 

21st level structural work is underway. 

19th floor structural work is in progress. 

Saudi Arabia-based FM consultancy DTZ has been awarded a facilities management consultancy contract on this scheme. DTZ's commission will be conducted in four phases. The first phase will consist of a FM design review and followed with the development and incorporation of a fit-out strategy, as part of the second phase. The third and final phase will respectively comprise development of an operational FM delivery strategy, as well as the outline of tendering and evaluation requirements of potential FM service providers. 

KONE has initiated the first stage of elevator and escalator installations at this tower. The Finnish lift firm is currently fitting elevator guide-rails. This work, as well as the eventual installation of the KONE elevator cars, will then progress as the tower's central structure rises over the coming years. Once the guide-rails have been fitted, the installation of elevator system itself can begin. KONE expects to reach this point before the end of 2016. The project will have world's fastest double-deck elevators with travel speed of over 10 m/s. For a building with such unprecedented height, KONE will deliver the world's fastest and highest DoubleDeck elevators, supported by its UltraRope technology, as well as the latest People Flow Intelligence systems. The design for UltraRope was pioneered at a research facility close to the town of Tytyri, which includes the world's tallest elevator test tower. 

15th level form work is currently underway. 

The tower is expected to have 252 floors with occupied floors being 167. It’s a mixed-use development with 7 floors for offices, 7 floors for hotel, 11 floor of service apartments and different grades of housing all the way to the observatory tower. The tower will comprise more than 500,000 m2 of floor space and feature a Four Seasons Hotel, Four Seasons furnished apartments, first-class office space and luxury condominiums. The actual tower starts at +20 metres above ground level, led there by a ramp and podium around the tower. The largest floor in the tower is 85,000 m2 consisting of a car park to service 2200 cars. The tower will have 59 elevators, including four double decker and 2 triple-decker elevators. The tower uses tinted glass and takes advantage of new energy conservation technology that features a high-performance exterior wall system that will minimize energy consumption by reducing thermal loads. Six cranes used to build the massive structure will withstand harsh meteorological conditions, especially winds. 

9th level structural work is currently in progress. 

8th level structural work is currently in progress. 

BC Conduit, an affiliate of local Bahra Cables Company, has been qualified to be among the companies competing to supply UPVC conduits for electrical installations in this tower. The UPVC conduits used for electrical installations are made of polyvinyl chloride (UPVC). 

German construction equipment manufacturer Liebherr has been awarded a contract to provide four tower cranes to facilitate construction on this scheme. Four luffing jib cranes are to be used for the build: three Liebherr 280 HC-L 16/28 models, and one 357 HC-L 18/32 unit. Current plans involve jib lengths of between 40 meters and 45 meters. The required lifting capacities vary between 11 tonnes and 12 tonnes at a radius of 35 meters. Operational support will be provided to the contractor via Liebherr Tower Crane Solutions. Liebherr will supply four of the six luffing jib cranes that are to be used during the building's construction. The 280 HC-L cranes will build Kingdom Tower's side wings. The units will be anchored to the outside of the building, and will reach hook heights of approximately 400 meters. The Liebherr 357 HC-l model has been selected to place the top on the building at a height of around 1,000 meters. In order to reach the required heights, the Liebherr units will have to move upwards in several stages. To this end, the cranes will be positioned on the sky terrace of the building, or on various cantilever platforms mounted on the exterior. The tower cranes will erect and dismantle one another. Kingdom Tower will boast the highest visitor viewing platform at a height of 630 meters. The project is scheduled for completion in December 2018. 

3rd floor structural work is currently underway. Construction is picking up pace and is on schedule, with the 6th floor to be ready by the end of 2014. 

It is understood that this project has employed the services of the world's tallest construction crane. Construction of the skyscraper is being assisted by custom-built cranes from Germany's Liebherr & WolffKran. Known as climbing cranes, the lifting devices are designed to accompany the tower's growth both externally and internally, in the latter case utilizing any of the building 65 interior elevator shafts to make the climb. Largest of the six cranes, Liebherr type 357 HC-L, can lift up to 18 tons at a speed of 44 meters/minute with heights to parallel that of the tower. The cranes are attached to the body of the building but sits atop a phenomenally narrow tower support of only 2.4 meters x 2.45 meters. With the tower's foundation now in place, vertical, above-ground construction has commenced. Plans call for the first ten floors to be completed by the end of this year. 

Elevator company KONE has been awarded a contract to provide lifts and escalators for this tower. The building will be equipped with (65) KONE elevators and escalators. A key to this deal was KONE's new UltraRope hoisting technology. This technology will enable elevator travel heights of one kilometer - twice the distance currently feasible. According to KONE, it is able to reduce the weight of lift ropes by around 90% with its new technology. The carbon fibers are both stronger and lighter than steel and have great tensile strength, meaning they are hard to break when their ends are pulled. 

Jeddah Economic Company is expected to raise about $1 billion to help fund the scheme. Contractors working on the tower expected to complete raft foundation by August 2014. 

Raft piling works for this tower have been completed. It took 12 months for the foundation work to finish, clearing the way for construction works to commence on site next week. Raft is considered one of the world's largest one-piece reinforced steel foundations with thickness ranging between 4.5-5 meters. Both piles and raft are supported with anti-corrosion technologies to preserve the steel reinforcement using a constant electric current system known as the Cathodic Protection. In addition, strain gauge instrumentation and load cells have been built-in to detect any changes in the soil and provide continuous readings about any environmental changes to the area around the foundations. Finally, earthing and lightning prevention systems have been installed into the raft piling foundation. Jeddah Economic Company achieved new world records using latest technologies for high-rise buildings' foundations construction - 270 piles have been cast in situ reaching 105 meters below the natural ground level and with diameter that varies between 1.5-1.8 meters. 

It is understood that construction work on this project is set to commence next week. The tower will take five years to construct and is expected to use half a million cubic meters of conctete and around 80,000 tonnes of steel. 

Fugro Middle East has recently completed the detailed ground investigations and specialist foundations testing for this tower. 

Local Arabian Bemco Contracting, through its affiliate company INMA Contracting, has been awarded a contract to carry out Electro-Mechanical works in this development. 

It is understood that construction work on this project is set to commence on April 27, 2014. The tower s slated to reach completion over a timescale of (63) months. 

Advanced Construction Technology Services (ACTS) has been awarded a contract to carry out the quality control of all construction materials that will be used in this project. ACTS will be mobilizing latest testing equipment and expert professionals to do the third party testing works on about half a million cubic metres of concrete and around 80,000 tonnes of steel to be used on the mega project. ACTS will also deploy special equipment to evaluate the rheological properties of concrete to ensure concrete will be pumpable to very high elevators. Deploying around 100 expert staff members, ACTS will install a fully-equipped site laboratory, which will carry the day-to-day quality control operations and also provide specialized testing services from its laboratory facility in Briman area of Jeddah, which is one of the largest testing facilities in the Middle East. 

It is understood that Saudi Bauer Foundation Contractors has completed construction of the foundation for this project. Saudi Bauer installed extremely long piles for the foundations. Work involved sinking 72 piles measuring 1.5 meter in diameter to a depth of 110 meters, (154 Nos.) 1.5-meter-diameter piles to depths of 49 and 89 meters and (44 Nos.) 1.8-meter-diameter piles to a depth of 50 meters - a total of 270 piles. Drilling was carried out using BG series rigs produced by sister company Bauer Maschinen. The long piles were installed using two modified Bauer BG 40 rotary drilling rigs specially configured for long Kelly piles. 

It is understood that the piling works have been completed on this scheme. 

The joint venture of UK-based EC Harris/Mace has confirmed that it has signed the project management contract (PMC) to oversee this development. The contract is worth $43 million. 

It is understood that piling and foundation work is under completion ahead of the main construction work begins on the site. 

A joint venture UK-based EC Harris/ Mace has been selected for the project management consultancy contract on this scheme. A formal award is expected later in the year. 

Jeddah Economic Company is still evaluating proposals for the project management consultancy contract on this scheme. US' Calthorpe Associates has been appointed as the lead master-planner for the tower, while UK-based architectural and design firm Godwin Austen Johnson (GAJ) has been appointed as the urban architect. 

Saudi Bauer has been awarded a $41 million contract to carry out piling works for this project. The company was selected based on its expertise and renowned worldwide specialisation in this field. 

US-based Landtech Design has been awarded a contract to work on the irrigation system in this project. The contract was awarded by US architect Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture. Landtech Design will act as the landscape irrigation design consultant and use sustainable irrigation technology to design the Kingdom Tower system. Water harvesting efforts will collect rainwater and condensate from the building to supply water for irrigating the grounds' 8.5 acres of green space. The condensation will be collected as the building's air conditioners extract water from the humid Red Sea air and directs it into a large cistern near the base of the building. The irrigation system will include technologies such as UV sanitation, a fertilizer injection system, ET/weather-based sensors, and a central control system that will allow the entire operation to be controlled remotely. 

A meeting held with the group of (8) local banks, which took place around April 15, 2012, involved the discussion of a $5-billion loan that would be used to finance the development. Financing for the first phase could be launched as early as in the third quarter of 2012. 

Client is set to hold a meeting with banks on April 15, 2012 to discuss financing of the project. The meeting will take place in Riyadh with France’s BNP Paribas, which is acting as the financial adviser on this scheme and with a group of local banks. Few details of the financing plan for the tower have been revealed to banks and meeting is expected to be just an initial market sounding for interest in funding the building rather than presenting a specific financing request. 

It is understood that the Jeddah Mayoralty has given its approval and issued a license for constructing this tower. The permit has been received by Jeddah Economic Company, which is an affiliate of the client. The project is expected to be completed in (63) months. 

It is understood that construction work on this project will commence in January 2012. 

Canadian engineering company RWDI is providing wind analysis for this tower. The company has been working alongside architects AS+GG Architects to ensure wind loading and motion is kept within tolerable limits for the building and its occupants. RWDI's work as wind engineering consultant is to provide the rest of the design team with design information, including structural wind loads. It will also get involved in predictions of wind-induced motions on the building, and determine if the level of motion as such that occupants in the building will still have a level of comfort. 

Germany's Bauer Spezialtiefbau GmbH is carrying out foundation work on this tower. It is expected to handle the drilling of the bores to a depth of 50 metre-plus. 

US' Environmental Systems Design (ESD), the MEP consultant for this tower is playing an integral role in ensuring that the project is both energy-efficient and minimises potential problems such as stack effect. With a three-legged footprint similar to that of the Burj Khalifa, this tower is designed and orientated in such a way that its facades align from northeast and northwest, thereby avoiding the harsh morning and afternoon sunlight. ESD has worked with the architectural team on the high-performance aspects of the facade itself, from wall design to glass performance, looking to reduce the solar gains from the project. As part of its work to ensure optimum system performance, ESD also worked with architect Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill and structural engineers Thornton Tomasetti on wind and airflow studies around the building to make sure they were not adversely influencing system operations. This tower will also be designed to collect and funnel condensate water from the building's air-conditioning systems, using them for irrigation and other purposes within the building. Efficient water fixtures would also be installed and used on the project, thereby minimising water use. 

Further details have been revealed about this project. It is understood that the tower would be at least 3,280-feet (1,000 metres) tall and about 50 storeys taller than the Burj Khalifa. The building will have three sky lobbies, with the most prominent situated at the 157th floor. The viewing platform disc that juts out from the side of the building was originally designed as a helipad and is 25 metres across. According to the architect, Adrian Smith & Gordon Gill, one of the limiting factors in skyscraper design was elevator design. At present, the elevators can reach a maximum height of 550-570 metres - due, primarily, to the weight on the cable and the load placed on motors that were currently available. As it stands, the elevators don't quite reach the highest occupied level of the tower, so a second tier of elevators has been designed in to the building. US-based Langan International has designed the tower foundation to overcome challenging sub-surface conditions consisting of very weak rock and highly permeable coral rock, which impacted pile capacities and settlement, among other critical design issues. Important geo-technical aspects of the project included a sophisticated sub-surface investigation using specialised field and laboratory testing, an advanced pile and barrette testing program, and a site-specific seismic hazard analysis. As part of the design team, Langan is providing multiple engineering services, namely geo-technical, site/civil, traffic and parking planning. With regard to site/civil engineering, Langan is managing multiple challenges, ranging from locating and orienting a tower in the centre of a planned city to storm-water designs that will mitigate flooding. Part of the overall storm-water management system designed by Langan will eventually collect, detain and discharge rainwater into a massive reflection pond at the base of the tower. Langan will also support the transformation of the conceptual master plan into construction-level documents, complete with roadway elevations, defined property boundaries, sub-surface utility layouts and storm-water detention requirements. Langan has also provided recommendations on the internal circulation patterns to the garages in this tower, the layout of spaces inside the garages, and the design and orientation of helixes. 

US' Environmental Systems Design (ESD) has been awarded a contract to design the building system for this tower. The contract, which was won following a highly competitive tendering process, will see ESD design energy-efficient building systems, organised vertically in accordance with occupancy. ESD is also providing MEP and fire protection engineering along with delivering integrated consulting services for tele-data, audio/visual, security and acoustics. 

US-based architect Smith+Gill has been awarded a formal contract to design this tower. 

Saudi Binladin Group has been awarded the main contract worth $1.2 billion to build this tower.
Site Tel: (+966-12) 6165680. 

The project is still on hold. 

It is understood that local Saudi Binladin Group is expected to win the main contract to build this tower. 

Client has approved the plan to build this tower. 

It is understood that the project has been put on hold. 

At least two contracting groups submitted revised bids in early September 2010 for the main construction contract. They include local El-Seif Engineering & Contracting, with Belgium's Six Construct; and local Saudi Binladin Group. An award is expected before the end of September 2010. Bidders were asked to update their prices because the tower's designs are now more complete, which means contractors can submit more accurate cost estimates. Dubai-based Emaar Properties is managing the development on behalf of the client. 

At least three contracting groups have submitted revised bids for the main contract. They include local El-Seif Engineering & Contracting and Belgium's Six Construct; local Saudi Binladin Group; and local Saudi Oger. The client had originally asked contractors to submit their final lump sum prices in March 2010. An award is expected soon. 

Contractors are preparing to submit bids for the main construction contract. Bidders include South Korea's Samsung Corporation, with Dubai-based Arabtec Construction; local El-Seif Engineering & Contracting and Belgium's Six Construct; local Saudi Oger; and local Saudi Binladin Group. 

Client has set a deadline for submission of bids for the main construction contract. 

Client has selected US-based Adrian Smith & Gordon Gill Architecture as the architect on this scheme. A formal contract has not yet been finalised. With an architect on board, the client has asked contractors to submit revised bids for the main contract. Dubai-based Emaar Properties is managing the development of this tower. 

A fourth contracting group has joined the three contracting groups that were short-listed by the client. It is a joint venture of local El-Seif Engineering & Contracting and Belgium's Six Construct. Bidders had originally expected an award to be made last year, but the developer now wants to consider proposals from other contracting groups that may be able to offer a lower price. Only 2 firms are in the race for the architectural consultancy contract. They are the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and US-based Adrian Smith & Gordon Gill Architecture. US-based architects Pickard Chilton, in partnership with UK-based Hyder Consulting has dropped out of the contest. An award is expected in February 2010. 

The project is awaiting initial approval from Jeddah Municipality to commence construction work. 

Client has short-listed three architects to prepare the concept design for this planned tower. The groups are US' Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Adrian Smith & Gordon Gill Architecture and US-based Pickard Chilton in partnership with UK-based Hyder Consulting. Client has also short-listed three contracting groups for a deal to complete the design and build the tower. They are South Korea's Samsung Corporation, with Dubai-based Arabtec Construction; Australia's Multiplex; and Saudi Binladin Group. As the contract will be awarded on a design and build basis, the client needs to involve the short-listed contractors earlier than usual since the winning contractor needs to work with the architect on the design of this tower before it begins construction. 

Design work is still ongoing. 

It is understood that the consultant is still working on design. 

US' Booz Allen Hamilton has been appointed as general adviser on this project. Tender documents for the main contract are expected to be issued by December 2008. 

It is understood that the height of this tower is likely to be significantly shorter than originally conceived. Tenders for the main construction contract are expected to be issued in July 2008. Local Omrania, in collaboration with US' Pickard Chilton, has worked on the design of this tower. 

Tenders for major construction packages on this scheme will be launched in the first half of this year. The tenders will follow a final investment decision on the project. It is understood that UK's Hyder Consulting is working in a joint venture with Arup, also of UK, as engineer on this scheme. Saudi firm Omrania is the architect and US' Bechtel is the construction manager.