When will the construction of Jeddah Tower be complete?

TL;DR

My forecast has the modal completion window in late 2028 and the median around March 2029.

Context

Jeddah Tower is active again. Jeddah Economic Company signed a SAR 7.2 billion completion contract with Saudi Binladin Group on October 2, 2024, after a long pause; the disclosure said 63 of 157 floors were complete and on-site construction was expected to finish over 42 months, which points to early April 2028 if counted from signing (Argaam, Oct. 2, 2024). Later project-side signals moved the public target toward August 2028: AS+GG told Newsweek that the schedule reflected August 2028 completion, and AGBI later reported the same expected month (Newsweek, Aug. 2025, AGBI, Nov. 2025).

The latest strong progress data is from April 2026. Kingdom Holding’s 1Q 2026 presentation said the tower was at Level 99, about 398 meters, with more than 274,000 cubic meters of concrete poured, about 61% of the total; façade cladding was installed across more than 36 floors; first-fix MEP was in progress on office Levels 7–14; and about 6,000 workers were operating 24/7 (Kingdom Holding 1Q 2026 presentation, Apr. 2026). Thornton Tomasetti then said on April 20, 2026 that the tower had surpassed 100 floors and 400 meters (Thornton Tomasetti, Apr. 20, 2026).

Evidence

The historical backbone is harsh. Large construction projects in Saudi Arabia often slip: one study of 76 Saudi projects found that 45 were delayed, and 76% of contractors reported typical time overruns of 10%–30% of original duration (Assaf and Al-Hejji summary, King Fahd University). Megaprojects are worse. McKinsey summarizes Bent Flyvbjerg’s finding that nine out of ten megaprojects go over budget, and a McKinsey study of 48 troubled megaprojects found poor execution caused cost and time overruns in 73% of cases (McKinsey). Jeddah Tower is not a normal building. It is a first-kilometer tower, and it already lost years after construction began in 2013 and stalled around 2018.

The closest tower analogues also argue against treating “100 floors” as near completion. Burj Khalifa reached Level 100 in January 2007, topped out in January 2009, finished exterior cladding in September 2009, and formally opened in January 2010; Britannica notes that the opening came before the interior was fully complete (Burj Khalifa official timeline, Architectural Digest, Britannica). Shanghai Tower began construction on November 29, 2008 and completed civil engineering works by the end of 2014, while public opening came later in 2016 (Shanghai Tower official project page, Lonely Planet). These analogues are not perfect, but they show that the last phase of a megatall tower is measured in years, not weeks.

The inside-view evidence is much better than the outside view. The October 2024 contract was not a vague relaunch. It had a value, contractor, funding path, and duration: SAR 7.2 billion, Saudi Binladin Group, internal funding plus bank facilities, and 42 months (Argaam, Oct. 2, 2024). Kingdom Holding’s 2025 financial statements also say JEC’s agreement expects construction to be completed within 42 months and that SBG’s economic benefits depend on conditions including completion, testing, and pre-commissioning; the same note refers to completion of Jeddah Tower in 2028 (Kingdom Holding 2025 financial statements, note on JEC). That makes 2028 a real working schedule, not just media optimism.

The progress path is consistent with that schedule. The public series is: construction started in 2013; the tower was at 63 floors when the October 2024 completion contract was signed; AS+GG reported Core Level 69 and an August 2028 schedule in August 2025; Kingdom Holding reported Level 91 and about 370 meters in March 2026; Kingdom Holding reported Level 99 and about 398 meters in April 2026; and Thornton Tomasetti reported more than 100 floors and 400 meters on April 20, 2026 (Argaam, Oct. 2024, Newsweek, Aug. 2025, SceneNow, Mar. 2026, Kingdom Holding 1Q 2026 presentation, Thornton Tomasetti, Apr. 2026). I read this as strong evidence that structural progress is real and that top-out before the end of 2027 is plausible.

The problem is that this question resolves on “construction complete,” not “structure reached a famous floor.” In April 2026, the tower was around 40% of final height, even though 61% of concrete volume had been poured; façade installation covered 36+ floors, and MEP first-fix was only on office Levels 7–14 (Kingdom Holding 1Q 2026 presentation). The remaining critical path likely includes upper-level structure, crown/spire works, façade close-in, elevators, fire and life-safety systems, MEP, testing, and the formal declaration that construction is finished. That pushes my median later than August 2028.

My final distribution assigns 0.5% before 2028, 42.5% during 2028, 30.0% during 2029, 12.5% during 2030, 10.9% from 2031 through 2037, and 3.6% after 2037 or never completed. The most likely window is August–November 2028. The median is in early 2029 because schedule risk is asymmetric: the tower can slip by a year more easily than it can finish a year early.

What's non-obvious

The public story says “completion in 2028.” I agree with the direction but not the certainty. The August 2028 target already includes some padding beyond the 42-month contract date, but it is still a project target from interested parties. CTBUH’s current public database lists Jeddah Tower with expected completion in 2030, 1,000+ meters, and 167 floors, which I treat as a useful outside-view correction rather than a stronger source than the developer (CTBUH Skyscraper Center data).

The floor count is also less informative than it looks. The restart disclosure used 157 floors, while CTBUH and some newer summaries use 167 floors; either way, the building is still far from architectural completion (Argaam, Oct. 2024, CTBUH Skyscraper Center data). The better signal is the lag between structure, façade, and MEP. That lag is normal, but it is why a clean 2028 finish is less than even money.

Limitations

There is no public critical-path schedule for topping out, façade completion, elevator installation, MEP completion, testing, civil-defense approval, handover, and the declaration that construction is complete. The best current data comes from Kingdom Holding and Thornton Tomasetti, which are close to the project and therefore informed, but not neutral (Kingdom Holding 1Q 2026 presentation, Thornton Tomasetti, Apr. 20, 2026).

The resolution language also leaves room for judgment. A media report saying the exterior or structure is complete may come before a developer statement saying the tower is complete. I modeled the resolution as the first clear public statement that structural and architectural construction of the tower itself is finished, not first occupancy and not completion of Jeddah Economic City.