SAUDI ARABIA PLANS 2KM HIGH ‘MEGASCRAPER’

Thu 15 December 2022:

Saudi Arabia is planning to build a 2,000 metre high tower in the capital Riyadh. If the plans go ahead, it will be the tallest building in the world, eclipsing the UAE’s Burj Khalifa in Dubai which stands at 828 metres high.

The estimated cost is around $5 billion according to a report by Middle East business intelligence (MEED). A design competition is currently underway with a participation fee of $1 million, the report said, citing sources close to the contest who also disclosed that several of the world’s leading architecture firms have already been invited to take part.

The proposed “megascraper” is just one major project planned for the northern outskirts of Riyadh. Last month, plans were announced for an expansion to the city’s King Salman International Airport. If this goes ahead and is completed according to schedule in 2030, it will become the largest airport in the world in terms of passenger capacity.

The design competition is being run by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) which is chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. The PIF is also behind the kingdom’s other mega projects, including the centrepiece of the Vision2030, the smart city NEOM and its vertical “landscraper”, The Line, which is already under construction.

Saudi is currently engaging on a huge series of megaprojects and investments known as “Vision 2030”.

It is a plan to diversify Saudi’s oil-dependent economy – turning it into a global powerhouse.

MBS has been seen by some as a modernising figure – with measures such as lifting a ban on women driving and curbing the powers of the religious police.

But the reforms have been accompanied by a crackdown on critics of his rule, including female activists.

And he was implicated the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Vision 2030’s centrepiece is the megacity Neom.

The city will be located on the border with Jordan and Egypt and will start welcoming residents and businesses by 2025.

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