The world’s first 1km building is being built and it's set to become the tallest skyscraper on the planet, with construction moving fast
Published on Apr 25, 2026 at 2:38 AM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Apr 25, 2026 at 2:38 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
Designed to be the world’s tallest skyscraper, this tower is one kilometer tall.
When complete, it’ll feature apartments, office space, hotels, bars, restaurants, and shopping malls.
But the key headline fact here is the height, obviously, not what the tower will contain.
If everything goes to plan, it’ll be ready in a couple of years.
Designed by the same guy who gave us the Burj Khalifa
One of the most interesting facts about the tower is that it was designed by Adrian Smith, the same architect who also designed the Burj Khalifa.
So Mr Smith is essentially trying to beat his own record.
For reference, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai is 829.8 meters (2,722ft) tall.
The new skyscraper, simply known as Jeddah Tower, is planned to be the world’s tallest building at 1,000 meters – or 3,300 feet.
If everything goes smoothly, the Jeddah Tower should open its doors by August 2028.
A few more details about the world’s tallest skyscraper
‘World’s tallest skyscraper’ is certainly a catchy title, but there are actually a lot more headline facts about this building.
The tower is pictured above in September 2025, and below, the tower in February 2026 – so far, they’ve built around 90 floors
It will be built using a combination of concrete, steel, and glass, and it’ll use at least 59 lifts.
The floor area will span over 2,600,000 square feet.
In total, you’re looking at 167 floors of usable space.
Speaking of which, something else that’s worth noting is that the building will be around 1,000 meters tall, but the top floor will only be around 640 meters from the ground, with an observatory and a terrace.
This means that around 400 meters will be used for structural purposes and to build the spire that’ll break the record, but no one will actually reach that area.
Construction began in 2013, but it was halted between 2017 and 2018 for reasons that we could describe as ‘political,’ and then again in 2020 because of the pandemic.
Construction then resumed in 2023, and the company responsible for the project – Kingdom Holding Company – is making fast progress.
The goal is to open it by 2028.
After beginning his automotive writing career at DriveTribe, Alessandro has been with Supercar Blondie since the launch of the website in 2022. In fact, he penned the very first article published on supercarblondie.com. He’s covered subjects from cars to aircraft, watches, and luxury yachts - and even crypto. He can largely be found heading up the site’s new-supercar and SBX coverage and being the first to bring our readers the news that they’re hungry for.
