Work on a mile high skyscraper is expected to begin, after being commissioned by the Saudi Royal family yesterday (Monday 11th April).

Expecting to be a sight for a sore neck, the sky scrapper will reach new heights of 1.6km and will be formally known as The Kingdom Tower.

The height will dwarf the current world’s largest skyscraper, the record set by the Burj Khalifa which is currently half the height of the expected Kingdom Tower.

Set to contain a mixture of apartments, offices, hotels and a shopping centre, the Tower is anticipated to cost in the region of $30 billion. It will have 275 floors, taking just 12 minutes to reach the top in an elevator.

The magnitude building will be housed in major urban city, Jeddah providing a centre piece for the developing city. It is expected to be financed by Kingdom Holding Company, which holds shares in Apple, Amazon and McDonalds.

It has been widely reported have suggested that architect Adrian Smith has been entrusted with the design, however his company Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill have denied having anything to do with a mile-high tower design. Skyscraper experts Emaar are believed to have won over the contract for the construction after also completing the Burj Khalifa.

Reported by Claire Blackthorne.

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