The Kingdom Tower design is highly technological and distinctly organic. With its slender, subtly asymmetrical massing, the tower evokes a bundle of leaves shooting up from the ground. The sleek, streamlined form of the tower was inspired by the folded fronds of young desert plant growth. RIYADH – Kingdom Holding Company has signed a SR4.6 billion ($1.2 billion) deal with the Saudi Binladen Group (SBG) to build the world's tallest tower, a press release said here Tuesday. The Kingdom Tower, to be built in Jeddah overlooking the Red Sea and Obhur Creek, is part of the first phase of Kingdom City. The sprawling mega project was announced in 2008 and is slated to cover a two-square mile area. Kingdom Tower is to be over 3,280 feet (1,000 meters) tall. It'll include a hotel, serviced apartments, luxury condominiums and offices, occupying roughly 5.4 million square feet. The Kingdom Tower complex will contain 59 elevators, including 54 single-deck and five double-deck elevators, along with 12 escalators. Elevators serving the observatory will travel at a rate of 10 meters per second in both directions. The deal was signed between Jeddah Economic Co., a KHC affiliate, and the Binladen Group, a construction giant that will also take a 16.6 percent stake in JEC. “Building this tower in Jeddah sends a financial and economic message that should not be ignored,” said Chairman of Kingdom Holding Company Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. “We intend Kingdom Tower to become both an economic engine and a proud symbol of the Kingdom's economic and cultural stature in the world community,” said Talal Al-Maiman, Executive Director, Development and Domestic Investments, a board member of Kingdom Holding Company and a board member of Jeddah Economic Company, which was formed in 2009 to develop Kingdom City in Jeddah. The capital of JEC is made up of SR8.8 billion in land value, assets that are SR7.3 billion, plus SR1.5 billion in cash contributed by SBG.
