Bin Laden Group to build world's tallest tower
Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud shows a model of the Jeddah Tower on Tuesday.
August 2nd, 2011
10:46 AM ET

Bin Laden Group to build world's tallest tower

Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding has hired Saudi Bin Laden Group to build the world's tallest skyscraper in Jeddah, Gulfnews.com reports.

Jeddah Tower will be 1,000 meters (3,281 feet) tall and will contain a Four Seasons luxury hotel, apartments, condominiums and offices that overlook the Red Sea, Financial Times reported.

Kingdom Holding is paying Bin Laden Group, one of the world's largest construction companies, about $1.2 billion to take on the five-year project, according to Financial Times.

Saudi Bin Laden Group was founded in 1931 by Muhammad Awad bin Laden, the billionaire father of terrorist Osama bin Laden. It built much of Saudi Arabia's highways and infrastructure, as well as entire districts and cities.

The company constructed additions to the Muslim nation's two holiest mosques in Mecca and Medina. It operates throughout the Middle East and was chosen in 1964 to reclad the golden Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem.

Over the years, Saudi Bin Laden Group has expanded into a conglomerate that includes engineering, manufacturing and telecommunications, according to business analysis site Hoovers.com.

Osama bin Laden, the 17th of 52 children, inherited part of his father's fortune, but his radical activities led the family to disown him in 1994.

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, a nephew of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, announced the tower building contract Tuesday. He owns 95% of Kingdom Holding, according to Financial Times.

When completed, Jeddah Tower will easily surpass Dubai's 828-meter (2,717-foot) Burj Khalifa as the world's tallest building.

The Chicago firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture designed the project and will oversee its development, Gulfnews.com reported. Adrian Smith was one of Burj Khalifa's designers when he was with Skidmore Owings and Merrill.

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Filed under: Architecture • Saudi Arabia
soundoff (528 Responses)
  1. ahmad

    i am very happy they call me to work in this project as a materiel Eng
    many american and English engineers work in this company and they pay much salary

    August 3, 2011 at 4:35 pm | Report abuse |
  2. New here

    Are you stupid bin Laden construction company only
    The founder of this project is a billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal

    August 3, 2011 at 9:17 pm | Report abuse |
  3. poiuytre

    What's up with this never ending contest to build higher and higher? When will it end? When a tower tips over because it's so top heavy and unstable because of its height?

    August 4, 2011 at 5:44 pm | Report abuse |
    • BuzzMann

      Ever hear of Tower of Babel?

      August 5, 2011 at 6:46 pm | Report abuse |
    • Prophecy

      There is a prophecy of the Prophet Muhammed that when the bedioun goat herder tribes are competing with each other to build the tallest buildings, the end of time is near. With the world's tallest buildings included in Dubai, Riyadh, Mecca and now Jedday, I would say that this prophecy is playing out before our very eyes.

      August 7, 2011 at 11:42 am | Report abuse |
  4. CheeseSteak

    So what

    August 4, 2011 at 6:34 pm | Report abuse |
  5. april

    you dont meet any hitlers because it was a mistake when adolf hitler changed his name from schickelgruber(sp?). they spelled heiler(sp?) wrong and he ended up with hitler lol

    August 5, 2011 at 1:06 pm | Report abuse |
  6. Josh

    Look to all you conspiracy idiots, I'm not gonna lie and tell you I'm a demolitions expert, or an aviation engineer, or whatever.

    What I am is a welder who works with steel, five, sometimes six days a week.

    So it is common knowledge that the planes CRASHED into the towers right? I bet they were going pretty fast, you know a lot of energy transfering to the structures right? Do you wanna know how we knock out pieces of steel that dont cut right at my work? we heat them (not to the point where they melt that would be STUPID) and apply force.

    do you see what I'm getting at? Idiots.

    August 6, 2011 at 9:42 pm | Report abuse |
  7. Jeff

    the irony.

    August 7, 2011 at 12:32 am | Report abuse |
  8. Steven

    Someone should fly a plane into it...

    August 8, 2011 at 6:05 pm | Report abuse |
    • just funy

      hahahahahahhah
      i doubt at this stage you have crazy american or radical christian (yet) to do it .
      but may be if economy becomes worse and your go back to bloody violence cycle like the old days 300 years back may be

      August 12, 2011 at 1:46 pm | Report abuse |
  9. george

    Bin Laden's family building the world's tallest building? Oh the irony... I just hope they have a good insurance policy on it and don't alienate any of the kids in the Bin Laden family.

    August 10, 2011 at 7:20 pm | Report abuse |
  10. marwan nageeb

    i worek whit ben laden but salare smal
    why?

    September 22, 2011 at 3:18 am | Report abuse |
  11. Condominiums hawaii

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    February 18, 2012 at 10:12 am | Report abuse |
  12. hotels saudi arabia

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    November 22, 2012 at 4:35 pm | Report abuse |
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