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Saudi Arabia looks to dwarf neighbour UAE with the world's new tallest tower

Saudi Arabia is looking to beat the United Arab Emirates with a bigger tower.

Jeddah's Kingdom Tower will reach 1,000 metres above the ground.

Gulf state Saudi Arabia may soon be able to boast the tallest building in the world. Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill architecture has announced that it is designing Kingdom Tower, a hotel, residential and office complex in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which will (hopefully) reach 1,000 metres above the ground. The current tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which stands 828 metres tall. The Kingdom Tower will be over 1000 metres, at least 173m taller than Burj Khalifa (828m).

Kingdom Tower is the centrepiece of the Jeddah's highly ambitious Kingdom City development. Kingdom Holding Co, the investment firm headed by the billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is teaming with the Binladen Group to bankroll and build the tower. The Saudi construction group is owned by the family of Osama bin Laden, which disowned the former al-Qaida leader years before the 9/11 attacks.