The kilometer-high skyscraper in Saudi Arabia will be built by the British

Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) - The skyscraper, which is to be located in Saudi Arabia's Jeddah and will surpass all existing tall buildings in height, will be constructed by the company that built the new London landmark Shard. Saudi Arabia has decided this week to award the construction to the London-based engineering company Mace, which will partner with British EC Harris. According to Building.co.uk, the companies have secured a contract worth £800 million (24 billion crowns).
     The skyscraper, which will be named the Kingdom Tower, will stand one kilometer tall, which is three times Shard's height, making it the tallest building in the European Union and the second tallest in Europe. It will also exceed the current tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, by 170 meters, which measures 828 meters.
     It is expected that the construction, which will have 156 floors, will take five years. It will include a luxury hotel, apartments, offices, and an observatory.
     The contract was awarded to the British by the Jeddah company JEC, whose executive director Walid Abdal Jalil Battirji stated that his company appreciated the quality of construction of the London skyscraper. He expects that preparations for the Saudi Arabian project will begin as early as April.
     The design of the building is by the Chicago firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, and the main contracting company will be the local company Binladin Group.