The race is on for who can build the world’s tallest building.
See if you can spot the common thread.
The race to build the world’s tallest building has reached a new level with plans for a mile-high tower to be built near the Red Sea port of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
The multi-billionaire owner of the Savoy Hotel in London has unveiled plans for the ambitious £5 billion tower, which will overtake skyscrapers planned or under construction in Kuwait and Dubai.
The new tower will surpass the Burj Dubai, which is under construction
The Mile High Tower will be double the height of its nearest rival, and will be almost seven times the height of the Canary Wharf tower in London.
Visitors will be able to see Africa from the top of the tower, the Sunday Times newspaper reports.
Riyadh-based Kingdom Holding, which is controlled by billionaire Prince al-Walid bin Talal, will invite bids before July for contracts to build the tower in Saudi Arabia’s commercial capital.
The project will push architecture and engineering to new limits, as the tower must be robust enough to withstand the extremes of temperature and strong desert winds in the region.
Gulf Arab states, flush with funds from record high oil prices, are trying to outstrip each other to build the world’s tallest building.
They have opened up a strong gap over east Asian countries in the race, with mega-skyscrapers planned or under construction in Kuwait and the booming United Arab Emirate of Dubai.
The Burj Dubai, which is due for completion in 2009, had previously been predicted to take the crown as the world’s tallest man-made structure.
Prince al-Walid, a member of the Saudi royal family, bought the Savoy Hotel, in the Strand in London, for £1.25 billion in 2005
Mile High Tower? Either Prince al-Walid is finding it difficult to hide his true intentions, or his marketing manager is soon going to learn the hard way that beheading is not a dirty word in Saudi Arabia.
In any event, I am finding this “tallest building” race between the wealthy of Gulf Arab states rather amusing.
If you ask me, Leatherback turtles are a lot cheaper, and could apparently help them with their problem.
