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.
@Mikey: Having not seen the plans, how could you possibly make that statement?? I would think being an Engineer you would be a little brighter than that...
I don't have to see any plans to be able to use common sense. You probably never been involved in high strenght steel design before. A plane hitting a building of that kind is like a mosquito poking a human ( do the math )
@Mikey – I have never had a mosquito shaped hole in my arm and an ensuing internal fire from one flying into me.
1.2 billion? That is all it costs to build that? That stupid golden yacht from a few weeks back was valued at 4.2 billion. Strange days indeed.
$1.2 billion sounds seriously cheap. Labour, cranes and materials must be dirt cheap. Factor in 100 dead in the 5 years.
The building will be to honor Osama...
... so they get the dang thing halfway built, then the finance guys start claiming that the business pukes gave them bad requirements, which the suits deny, saying the requirements were clear, but the designers can't get the construction supervisors to simply build to the design, which they claim is clear. Meanwhile the union workers can't understand why the owners won't acknowledge their simple requests.
Completely confounded, everyone just quits, leaving the half-completed project to rot.
And God says "that's TWO".
Does that mean we get to blow it up first?
What a ridiculous comment
@Brad: it's not FAIR? What are you, 7?
Same company that built th twin towers in the USA. Only difference is George Bush Senior was a half shareholder then! Think about it?????
Oh good now we can have a little target practice
Tool
Good thing that we got osama. He'd have some idiots flying into this tower too.
Hes going to destroy his family's tower?
@chris Never heard of sarcasm ????? GHEEEEESH !!!!!!!!!!
Joe...the idiot.
Remember the Austin airplane that was flown into the IRS building last year?
It's a small 4 story building (wider and longer than it is tall) that was hit by a single-engine fixed-wing Piper PA-28-236.
A much smaller and slower flying plane than what flew into the WTC.
Study shows this little plane slammed into the building with well over a million foot-pounds of energy that caused the building to sway 4" then back 3".
Jake, don't go confusing him with the facts!
So, the building is still an inch off? Can the guy deduct that damage from his airplane? Or take the damage as a loss against future capital gains? Just sayin....
So the building is still an inch off? Can the pilot take the damage as a loss against future capital gains?
Too bad you will not be able to get a glass of wine in the restaurant. Why would anyone want to stay there?
The guy's name is Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud!
First of all, why do you need so many freaking names. Secondly, "Bin" is in the name twice. Moron!
Do we get to hijack their planes and fly them into their tower now?
Barry Jennings lives.
http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2011/07/30/truth-crushed-to-earth-shall-rise/