The landmark feature of King Abdulaziz Endowment’s Abraj al-Bayt complex is the 76-storey Mecca Royal Clock Tower, the fourth-tallest freestanding building in the world.

The clock tower accommodates a hotel with 858 rooms, operated by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. There is a clock on each side of the tower. Each clock face is 46 metres in diameter, the biggest in the world.

The highest residential floor is at 450 metres and the tower is 601 metres at the tip of its spire.

The Abraj al-Bayt complex comprises seven towers, each of which houses a hotel to accommodate visitors to the holy city of Mecca. The complex has a total built-up area of more than 1.4 million square metres and includes 15,000 apartments.

The main contractor for the project was Saudi Binladin Group (SBG). The $800m contract for the clock tower was awarded in 2003 and the complex was completed in 2012.

SBG was also contracted to execute the expansion of the adjacent Grand Mosque in Mecca.

The collapse of a crane on the project during a thunder storm in 2015 caused the loss of 107 lives and injured 400 others.