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.
To the guy who brought up the B-25 running into the Empire State building. The B-25 is 10 tons and has 670 gallons of fuel. The Boeing 757 weighs 63 tons and carries 11,489 gallons of jet fuel. Which one would have a better chance of dropping a building? Some times you have to look at the facts.
I used to be into the conspiracies so Im glad to see someones posting some facts.
It looks like a taller thinner version of North Korea's tallest hotel.
Airplanes flew into them, Bubba. Duh!
Jeddah is a garbage dump, wrong place to build it.
you get what you pay for
Actually, all of Saudi looks like a garbage dump.
Really? How much of Saudi have you visited?
Most of Saudi is solid desert. Never saw a garbage dump that looked like a desert anywhere.
Of course, I've only been all over Europe, Africa and the Middle East, so my experience is limited.
Saudi are people – you mean Arabia right?
I wonder if they will let a christian church to be built next to it?
Not a chance, nowhere in Saudi, Kuwait-yes, Bahrain-yes, but not Saudi
Absolutely. The day that the Vatican permits a mosque to be built next the holy see.
Qatar sponsored and built a number of Christian churches, to include a Roman Catholic church.
Don't count on any Christian churches anywhere near Mecca though. Any more than the Vatican would tolerate a mosque on their grounds.
Not sure what type of point you're trying to make. Will they allow a Christian church to be built without protest in the Middle East? Probably not. Would we allow a Muslim mosque to be built in this country (USA) without protest, given this is the land of the free and that its ideally been the American way to set the bar of freedom of speech and worship? Probably not.
Chuckt, are you really that stupid???
As soon as it is built they should have the other Bin Laden group crash airplanes into it.
The Osama Bin Laden group is now an aquatic based organization. Hence, they're out of business in land operations.
its sad that how usama bin laden and his screwed up mentality has put the citizens of THE leading nation of the world from thinking about building and constructing new things to his own terrorist mentality.
@K3Citizen: LMAO!
Atleast a banner that says "we knocked two down in nyc" while they bask in the glory of their tall tower.
So, now it was Saudi and not Al Qaeda in Afghanistan that attacked the World Trade Center?
Or are you a moron?
I'll go with the latter.
Lol. So simple minded. Oh well.
Great! something to drive a plane through.
Terrorist threat forwarded to the DHS. Enjoy your new watch list status.
hey wzrd, forward these balls into your moms mouth.
this article needs more B( . )( . )BS!!!
Why do they need to build a tower so high? Is it a metaphor, are they trying to compensate for something?
It will take for ever to reach the top of the tower, such a waste of time. And what if there is a fire? People are gonna walk down the stair for 500 floors...it's ridiculous.
They're doing out of a status symbol thing. The WTC spent quite a few years as the tallest in the world. Then, another country built taller. Then, another.
Now, it's Saudi doing it.
I DO agree with getting out in a fire. My cousin died on the 84th floor of the south tower of the WTC on 9/11.
Hey guys will you visit HelpFaye.ORG , a friend of mine is fighting for her life... Thank you
You're friends with a girl that died ten years ago? Are you a medium?
No, you're a scammer.