Saudi Arabia planning 2km tall Riyadh tower with renowned architecture firm: report

The industry magazine said a PIF-backed project is being developed alongside Foster + Partners and the final height of the tower in Riyadh would reach 2km and be a multi-billion-dollar project.

The world’s tallest building, currently, is the 828m tall Bur Khalifa in Dubai.

Saudi Arabia world’s tallest tower ambition

Citing unnamed sources, Architect’s Journal said firms including Burj Khalifa-designer Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) had been in the running for the project.

The supertall tower will be situated close to King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the report said.

Previous reports said building a 2km-tall tower in Saudi Arabia would cost more than $5bn.

Foster + Partners is currently working on three airport projects in Saudi Arabia.

Last year it won an international competition to design a new terminal for Abha Airport in Saudi Arabia’s Aseer Region.

Inspired by the nearby Rijal Almaa village, the winning design reinvents the airport terminal as a series of interconnected human-scale clusters, outdoor courtyards and walkways.

Even with Riyadh’s ever-changing skyline a 2km supertall skyscraper would tower over anything else in the city.

The tallest current building in the city is the 385m-high PIF Tower and other notable structures include the Burj Rafal residential building and hotel and the iconic 302m Kingdom Centre.