Jeddah Tower

For the mile-high skyscraper design by Frank Lloyd Wright, see The Illinois.

Mile-High Tower

The Mile-High Tower (Arabic: برج الميل‎) is planned for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. As the name suggests, the tower will be a mile in height (approximately 1,609 m).

The project is being planned by Al-Waleed bin Talal's Riyadh-based Kingdom Holding Company and it is understood that it will be engineered by Great Britain's Hyder Consulting, in conjunction with Arup, and constructed by Bechtel. Omrania, a Saudi firm, is thought to be the project architect, in collaboration with the US' Pickard Chilton.

It is projected to cost $10.7 billion (US).

The Sunday Times of London reported that it "will be constructed" and that Mile-High Tower "means the Middle East has opened a strong gap over east Asia in the race for the world’s tallest building."

MEED says tenders are expected by August 2008, following an "imminent" final investment decision on the project. A source close to the project told the publication: "It is generally understood that the project is going forward. It has not stopped and we don't think it is going to be stopped. The prince (Al-Waleed bin Talal) has indicated he is ready." If this is true and construction does go ahead, then it will be approximately twice the height of the current tallest structure, the Burj Dubai.

However, in May 2008 MEED reported that the project has been scaled back. It could be "up to 500 meters shorter" the article stated. Soil testings in the area recently delayed the first phases of the project casting doubt over whether skyscrapers of significant height can be built in the proposed location."

See also

• List of tallest buildings and structures in the world