Jeddah Tower, currently rising along the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia, is on track to become the first building in human history to break the one-kilometre mark — a project that Indian architecture enthusiasts, construction professionals, and Gulf-based expatriates alike have followed closely given how many Indian engineers and workers are involved in Gulf mega-projects of this scale. As of early September 2026, the tower has reached 113 floors and stands at roughly 430-plus metres, still under active construction rather than open to visitors, so anyone planning a trip should adjust expectations accordingly.
| Landmark Detail | Information |
| Official Name | Jeddah Economic Company Tower (JEC Tower); widely known as Jeddah Tower |
| Formerly Known As | Kingdom Tower |
| Location | Jeddah Economic City, Jeddah, Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia |
| Coordinates | 21°44′02″N, 39°04′59″E |
| Status | Under construction, not open to the public |
| Current Height (Sept 2026) | Approximately 430+ metres, 113 floors completed |
| Planned Final Height | At least 1,000 metres (3,281 ft), 167 floors |
| Estimated Completion | August 2028 (subject to revision) |
| Architect | Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (also designed Burj Khalifa) |
Understanding Jeddah Economic City and the Tower’s Place Within It
Jeddah Tower serves as the centrepiece of Jeddah Economic City, a vast 5.3 million square metre urban development currently under construction along Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast. Once complete, the tower is designed to stand at least 180 metres taller than the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, making it not just Saudi Arabia’s tallest structure but the tallest building or structure anywhere in the world, a genuinely historic achievement for the region’s skyline.
The Tower’s Long and Complicated Construction History
For anyone researching this project, it’s worth understanding the genuinely unusual timeline behind it, since this shapes what’s actually visible on the ground today.
- Construction originally began on 1 April 2013, but the project was halted for nearly seven years, stalling at around 63 completed floors amid funding and contractor disputes.
- Development work resumed in 2023 following a new request for proposals, and full-scale construction restarted in January 2025 under a SAR 7.2 billion completion contract.
- Since restarting, the pace has been genuinely aggressive, with crews adding a new floor roughly every three to five days using advanced “pumpcrete” technology capable of delivering high-performance concrete to heights never before reached in construction history.
- The tower passed 100 floors and 400 metres by April 2026, reached 107 floors and 430 metres by late July 2026, and had climbed to 113 floors by early September 2026, reflecting the sustained momentum behind the current construction phase.
Reaching the Jeddah Tower Site
Current Public Access
Since the tower remains under active construction, there is currently no public entry, observation deck access, or visitor programme available. Anyone travelling to Jeddah expecting a completed tourist attraction should be aware that this remains a construction site rather than an operating landmark.
By Air
King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah’s main gateway and a significant hub for pilgrims travelling to Mecca and Medina, serves as the primary access point for anyone visiting the broader area, including many Indian travellers making the Hajj or Umrah pilgrimage.
By Road
Jeddah Economic City sits along the Red Sea coast, connected to the broader Jeddah road network, though as a large-scale development still under construction, road infrastructure directly around the site continues to evolve alongside the tower itself.
Viewing From a Distance
Given the tower’s already substantial height, exceeding 430 metres as of mid-2026, it has become visible from considerable distances across Jeddah, and various vantage points around the city allow observers to track the structure’s progress even without site access.
Why Jeddah Tower Represents Such a Significant Engineering Milestone
A few specific factors explain why this project continues to draw global attention despite its complicated history.
- Being designed to reach at least 1,000 metres would make it the first structure in human history to break the one-kilometre threshold, a genuinely unprecedented engineering achievement rather than just an incremental height record.
- Its structural engineering, confirmed by project engineers at Thornton Tomasetti to be performing exactly as modelled in wind-tunnel tests, reflects genuinely advanced computational modelling required to withstand wind forces unique to structures at this scale.
- The involvement of Adrian Smith, the same architect behind the Burj Khalifa, gives the project genuine design pedigree, drawing on lessons learned from the world’s current tallest building.
- A workforce of roughly 5,200 people has been logging substantial hours on-site, reflecting the sheer scale of human effort behind bringing this project back from its earlier seven-year stall to its current rapid progress.
What to Know About the Broader Saudi Mega-Project Landscape
It’s worth understanding Jeddah Tower’s progress in context, since not every ambitious Saudi construction project has moved forward at the same pace.
- While Jeddah Tower has advanced rapidly since its 2025 restart, other Saudi gigaprojects have faced significant setbacks, including reported cancellations of several NEOM megastructure contracts and a scaling back of The Line development, now halted until at least 2030.
- This contrast highlights that Jeddah Tower’s current momentum reflects a specific, well-funded completion push rather than uniform progress across all of Saudi Arabia’s headline construction projects.
- Given how quickly circumstances have shifted for other projects in the region, it’s genuinely worth checking for the latest updates before making firm plans around Jeddah Tower’s eventual public opening.
Localities and Landmarks Around Jeddah Tower
- Jeddah Economic City — the broader master-planned development within which Jeddah Tower sits, spanning 5.3 million square metres.
- Jeddah Corniche — the city’s famous waterfront promenade along the Red Sea, a popular destination for visitors exploring the coastal city.
- King Abdulaziz International Airport — the main gateway serving both Jeddah residents and the substantial pilgrim traffic heading to Mecca and Medina.
- Al-Masa Tower — another significant Jeddah skyscraper currently under construction, also targeting a 2028 completion.
Practical Notes for Anyone Following This Project
A little context helps when tracking or planning around this still-developing landmark.
- Don’t plan a visit expecting public access, observation decks, or guided tours, since the tower remains an active construction site with no current visitor programme.
- If you’re in Jeddah for business, pilgrimage, or leisure travel, the tower is visible from various points around the city given its already substantial height, offering a genuine glimpse of construction history in progress.
- Keep checking for updates given the project’s historically unpredictable timeline, since even the current aggressive pace and 2028 completion estimate remain subject to revision based on past experience with this specific development.
- For those specifically interested in the engineering side, updates from firms like Thornton Tomasetti and Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture offer genuinely detailed technical progress reports as construction continues.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Can visitors currently go inside or view Jeddah Tower from an observation deck?
No, the tower remains under active construction with no public access, observation deck, or visitor programme currently available, so anyone travelling to Jeddah should not expect a completed tourist attraction just yet.
Q2. How tall is Jeddah Tower as of now, and how does that compare to its final planned height?
As of early September 2026, the tower had reached 113 floors and roughly 430-plus metres, still considerably short of its planned final height of at least 1,000 metres and 167 floors.
Q3. Why did construction on Jeddah Tower stop for several years?
The project stalled for nearly seven years after 2018 amid funding and contractor issues, reaching only around 63 floors before development work resumed in 2023 and full-scale construction restarted in January 2025.
Q4. When is Jeddah Tower expected to be completed?
Current estimates point to August 2028, though given the project’s complicated history of delays, it’s worth checking for the latest updates before treating this as a firm date.
