Kingdom Tower project put on hold

SAUDI RIYAL: Global economic crisis hits Kingdom Tower project. (Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Tower in Jeddah has become the latest of the world's tallest skyscraper projects to be put on hold.

New Civil Engineer magazine, citing MEED (Middle East Business Intelligence), reports that work on the world's tallest tower, which at one point had been expected to be one mile in height, has been shelved because of the global economic crisis.

This follows similar moratoriums on Dubai's 1km Nakheel Tower, the 415m Chicago Spire, and Moscow's 612m Rossia Tower.

The decision to delay the Kingdom Tower comes after its developer Kingdom Holding reported steep losses in Q4 2008, because of the downturn in local and international equity markets.

Bechtel was project manager for the tower development and is in the process of ending its involvement with the project.

"It is not going to happen in the short term; it has been deferred for an undetermined period of time," a source close to the project told MEED.

"Bechtel is closing its account with Kingdom, and is no longer involved with the project."

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