Kingdom Holding Moves Forward with World's Tallest Building, Kingdom Tower

Kingdom Holding Company, the investment firm led by billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, announced this week that it has signed a 4.2 billion riyal ($1.23 billion) deal a deal to build the Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, selecting Saudi Binladen Group to build the structure according to a Daily Mail article. Kingdom Tower, expected to stand at least 3,280 feet tall (the exact final height is still a closely guarded secret), will loom larger than Dubai's Burj Khalifa making it the world's tallest building upon completion. Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, designed the 5.7 million square foot building; Adrian Smith, previously of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, also designed the Burj Khalifa.

Smith told the Huffington Post of the project that "there's something very special about being the world's tallest building. Everyone wants to be able to do one. I think in this situation there is a development going around the tower -- a $29 billion development -- and this tower acts as a catalyst for that development. Putting such a tall tower in first actually increases the land value around the tower, so even if you don't make a lot of money on the tower itself you'll make money on the land."

"Building this tower in Jeddah sends a financial and economic message that should not be ignored," Prince Alwaleed told reporters. "It has a political depth to it to tell the world that we Saudis invest in our country despite what is happening around us from events, turmoil and revolutions even."

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