Under construction north of Jeddah, Kingdom City is a mega development that will stretch across 5.3 million square metres and feature the tallest building in the world.

Expected to accommodate 80,000 residents and 250,000 visitors, the masterplan for the development includes commercial, residential, institutional, educational, entertainment, retail and hotel facilities.

The centrepiece of the project is Kingdom Tower, which will cost $1.2bn to build. While the tower’s exact dimensions remain a secret, it is expected to exceed 1km in height when completed, making it nearly 200 metres taller than Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, currently the world’s highest skyscraper.

An official floor count has yet to be revealed, but architects have stated that there will be approximately 50 more floors than the 163-storey Burj Khalifa. Kingdom Tower will also host the world’s highest observation deck.

Its primary purpose will be to house a Four Seasons hotel, Four Seasons serviced apartments, office space and luxury condominiums.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), initiated the project and has been the driving force behind the decision to build Kingdom Tower.

KHC agreed a deal last year with the local Saudi Binladin Group that will see the contractor invest SR1.5bn in building the tower in return for a stake in the project.

The Kingdom City development is a three-phase project, with Kingdom Tower to be built in phase 1 and infrastructure for the scheme to be created in phase 2. The third phase has yet to be revealed.

In 2009, a new entity, Jeddah Economic Company, was formed to finance Kingdom City. It is made up of stakeholders comprising Kingdom Holding Company, Abrar Holding Company, a businessman named Abdulrahman Hassan Sharbatly and Saudi Binladin Group.

Earlier this year, Jeddah Economic Company appointed a pair of architectural firms to carry out masterplanning for Kingdom City.

US-based Calthorpe Associates has been named as lead masterplanner for the development, while UAE-based Godwin Austen Johnson architects has been appointed as urban architect.