Saudi’s Kingdom Tower set to go skywards as it aims for world’s tallest building tag

The iconic Kingdom Tower project in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Above ground work is set to begin on the tower which is expected to be taller than Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. Rendering courtesy EC Harris/Mace Saudi’s Kingdom Tower set to go skywards as it aims for world’s tallest building tag Above ground construction work due to start next week in Jeddah, after months of testing and preparation work. Lucy Barnard April 20, 2014 Updated: April 20, 2014 16:46:00 Save this article Above-ground construction work on what is expected to be the world’s tallest building, the Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is due to start next week. Related In pictures: The world’s ten tallest residential buildings ■ Residences with a view: Dubai hosts seven of the world’s top 10 tallest residential towers In pictures: Abu Dhabi's newest, tallest place to live Video: Spire rises in the ashes of Twin Towers in New York ■ Kingdom Tower, Burj Khalifa and the era of the megatall buildings Topic Saudi Arabia, The world’s largest construction firm, Saudi Binladin Group (SBL), is set to start building the long-awaited 1 kilometre-tall tower on April 27 after months of testing. Piling and other preparatory work on the tower, which has been valued at 4.6 billion Saudi riyals (Dh4.51bn), officially started last April after Kingdom Holding, the developer controlled by Prince Al Waleed, appointed the contractors Mace and EC Harris to work on the project. In February, SBL appointed Advanced Construction Technology Services (Acts) to carry out high-level tests on a half-million cubic metres of concrete and about 80,000 tonnes of steel set to be used in the building. The tower would overtake the 828-metre Burj Khalifa in Dubai as the world’s tallest building when it is expected to be completed in 2018. Kingdom Holding struck a deal with SBL in August 2011 to build the tower and help finance the project after various construction delays had led to speculation that the development had stalled. Kingdom Tower is the centrepiece of the planned 5.2 sq km Kingdom City urban centre along the Red Sea coast, which will comprise homes, shops, hotels and schools located around a series of lakes and canals. The project was originally announced in 2008. The following year it was announced that Dubai’s Emaar Properties would develop the tower and supervise its construction. But the tie-up was shelved as the global financial crisis hit the Arabian Gulf, and the fate of the tower itself hung in the balance until three years ago when Kingdom Holdings struck a deal with SBL to build the tower, which included SBL taking a stake in the mega-scheme. Kingdom Holding has repeatedly refused to specify the exact planned height of the Kingdom Tower to avoid tipping off competitors. lbarnard@thenational.ae Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/business/industry-insights/property/saudis-kingdom-tower-set-to-go-skywards-as-it-aims-for-worlds-tallest-building-tag#ixzz2zUd2ybtu Follow us: @TheNationalUAE on Twitter | thenational.ae on Facebook ==================================================================== Saudi Binladin seeks loan extension after Grand Mosque payment delay Reuters DUBAI: Saudi Binladin Group has asked for an extension on a 817 million riyal ($217.8 million) Islamic loan that matured last week and which was being used to fund construction work on the kingdom's Grand Mosque site, according to sources aware of the matter. The request to delay the payment, originally due on July 15, was because the Saudi government had yet to reimburse the construction firm for works carried out on Islam's holiest location, the sources said on condition of anonymity due to the subject's sensitivity. The company has been hit by government spending cuts and by its suspension from receiving new state contracts since September last year, when a crane accident killed 107 people at Makkah's Grand Mosque. Binladin declined to comment. Dubai Islamic Bank, which originally helped arrange the Islamic loan, declined to comment. A spokesman for the Saudi Ministry of Finance couldn't be reached for comment.