Jeddah Tower is a skyscraper under construction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, at a preliminary cost of SR4.6 billion (US$1.23 billion). It will be the centrepiece and first phase of a SR75 billion (US$20 billion) proposed development known as Jeddah Economic City that will be located along the Red Sea on the north side of Jeddah. If completed as planned, the Jeddah Tower will reach unprecedented height
s, becoming the tallest building in the world, as well as the first structure to reach the one-kilometre-high mark (Initially planned to be 1.6 kilometres (1 mi) high, the geology of the area proved unsuitable for a tower of that height). Jeddah Tower seeks to bring great changes in terms of development and tourism to the city of Jeddah, which is considered the most liberal city in Saudi Arabia. The design, created by American architect Adrian Smith, who also designed Burj Khalifa, incorporates many unique structural and aesthetic features. The creator and leader of the project is Saudi Arabian Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, the wealthiest man in the Middle East, and nephew of the late King Abdullah. Al-Waleed is the chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) which is a partner in Jeddah Economic Company (JEC), which was formed in 2009 for the development of Jeddah Tower and City. Reception of the proposal has been highly polarized; it has received high praise from some as a culturally significant icon that will symbolize the nation's wealth and power, while others question its socioeconomic motives, and forecast that it will have negative financial consequences.
