Saudi Arabia has raised enough cash to build the world's
tallest skyscraper, which will soar to a massive height of one kilometre.
The ultra-religious nation hopes the gargantuan 200-floor
Kingdom Tower will be finished by 2020, replacing Dubai's Burj Khalifa as the
tallest building on the planet.
It will cost more than £1.3 billion and use 80,000 tons
of steel as well as 5.7 million square feet of concrete.
The building's foundations will reach 60 metres in the
ground and it is designed to change shape every few floors to reduce the force
of winds.
Prince Alwaleed, a billionaire Saudi business mogul,
said: "Our cooperation with the banking sector is a manifestation of just
how strongly we believe in this ambitious project, which is set to become the
pride and joy of every Saudi, especially those who reside in Jeddah, and will
become an iconic urban center that will take the city to the next level, both
regionally and globally.”
The Middle East is locked in a battle to prove which
nation can erect the biggest skyscraper, with Saudi Arabia's effort expected to
be knocked off the top spot by Iraq's Bride Tower soon after claiming its
crown.
British Architect Eric Parry has slammed the region's
skyscraper dash, saying it is impractical to whack up a massive glass spire in
the middle of a baking hot desert.
"Personally, I think there are problems with the
towers built in the Middle East," he told The Telegraph.
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