Jeddah Tower Passes 116 Floors, New Finish Date Set for Late 2028

I came across this today and thought it was worth sharing with anyone who’s been following the Jeddah Tower story – because there’s both good news and a small delay in the same update.

The tower that’s meant to beat the Burj Khalifa as the world’s tallest building has just passed its 116th floor. That’s real progress. But the finish line has moved a little further away too.

Fabien Toscano, chief executive of Jeddah Economic Company (JEC), shared the update at the Saudi Mega Projects 2026 summit in Riyadh, held from 28 to 30 September. He said the tower now stands at around 466 metres, with 41 of its planned 157 floors still to go. He also confirmed the completion target has shifted from August 2028 to late 2028.

So why has the date moved?

Money, mostly. Toscano pointed to rising procurement and construction costs as one of the main pressures facing contractors across Saudi Arabia and the wider region right now. Some reports have also linked higher costs for Saudi contractors to the ongoing war in the Gulf.

Sales plans have shifted too. A JEC executive had earlier said off-plan apartment sales would begin in 2026. That’s now been pushed to 2027.

How fast has it actually been climbing?

This is the part I find genuinely impressive. Progress has sped up a lot this year.

Engineers had the tower at around 80 floors back in January. By April, structural engineers Thornton Tomasetti confirmed it had reached 100 floors and 400 metres. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal visited the site himself in July and confirmed 430 metres. By 2 September, figures showed 454 metres and 113 floors. In just a few weeks after that, it added another 12 metres and three floors to reach where it stands now.

It’s not just the concrete core going up either. Glass facade installation has started, alongside ongoing mechanical, electrical and plumbing work. Once finished, the building is meant to house luxury residences, commercial space, a Four Seasons hotel, and what’s planned to be the highest observation deck in the world, looking out over Jeddah and the Red Sea.

The tower already passed one major milestone back in early September, when it rose above Malaysia’s 452-metre Petronas Towers. You can read more on how Jeddah Tower passed Petronas in height and what that meant at the time.

A project that’s stopped and started before

If you’re wondering why this all feels familiar, it’s because Jeddah Tower has a long history of delays. Prince Alwaleed first announced the project back in August 2011, promising a 36-month build. A financing deal with Alinma Investment followed in November 2015, when the tower had only reached 26 floors – and even then, the opening date had already slipped to 2019.

Work actually stopped completely in 2018, with only 63 of the 157 floors built. It stayed stalled for six years. The restart came in October 2024, when Kingdom Holding, majority owned by Prince Alwaleed, announced a 7.2 billion riyal agreement between JEC and Saudi Binladin Group – roughly Dh7 billion, or about $1.9 billion. JEC said it would cover any remaining costs through its own resources and banking facilities. Actual construction work resumed in January 2025.

What does 1,008 metres even look like?

Current construction data puts the tower’s planned architectural height near 1,008 metres. For comparison, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai stands at 828 metres, so Jeddah Tower is aiming to be roughly 180 metres taller once it’s done.

Interestingly, the two towers share an architect. Adrian Smith was involved in both projects, and it’s his firm, Smith and Gordon Gill Architecture, that led the design for Jeddah Tower.

What this means if you’re in Kuwait

For anyone in Kuwait who follows Gulf megaprojects, or who might be eyeing an apartment or investment in Jeddah down the line, the later sales date in 2027 matters more than the few extra months on construction. If you were planning around a 2026 off-plan purchase, that window has moved.

It’s also a reminder of how closely regional costs and even conflict can ripple into construction timelines across the Gulf, Kuwait included, where many contractors source materials and labour through similar regional supply chains.

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