World's Tallest Building Hits 100 Stories in Major Construction Milestone
The Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, which will be the world's tallest building once completed, has reached its 100th floor this week, marking a "great milestone” in its construction, an architect from the firm behind it told Newsweek.
Sharing several new images of the imposing tower under construction this week, which were first shared with Newsweek on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG), the Chicago-based firm behind the building, told Newsweek: "The Jeddah Tower reached 100 stories this week."
Architect Bob Forest, managing partner at AS+GG, told Newsweek: “The Jeddah Tower project has reached 100 floors and is progressing quickly beyond that-a great milestone and one of many to come."
Once topped off, the Jeddah Tower, designed by architects Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill, the co-founders of AS+GG, will soar above 1,000 meters (around 3,281 feet), officially taking the title of world’s tallest building from the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which stands at 2,717 feet high. The Burj Khalifa was designed by Smith while he was at the SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill) architectural firm, before he co-founded AS+GG.
The upcoming Jeddah Tower, which has faced its own delays since construction first began more than a decade earlier, seems to be in the most promising position for completion. It is currently expected to be finished in August 2028, and its construction is "moving very well," Gill told Newsweek earlier this month.
The tower appears to be more than halfway complete, having reached its 50 percent completion point at around the 83rd floor mark, according to its website.
Once completed, the Jeddah Tower will reach unprecedented heights, shooting past a kilometer-or about 3,281 feet-above the ground, Gill told Newsweek, with its final height will only be revealed upon completion.
Gill, who was previously an associate partner at SOM, said what sets the Jeddah Tower apart from previous buildings that have been crowned as the world's tallest is its simplicity.
Gill told Newsweek that the tower has "a very clear, very simple diagram," like "a folded airplane that a child might make to stand on end," which he believes makes it very striking. He also added that the building itself is “extremely efficient" and is "achieving greater heights with greater efficiency."
The Jeddah Tower will form the centrepiece of the Jeddah Economic City, a 5.3 million square-meter sprawling urban development that's also currently under construction.
Gill said: "In time, this will be a city all onto its own," noting that the Jeddah Tower is "a great catalyst for Jeddah and for the kingdom of Saudi Arabia."
The Jeddah Tower in Numbers
Current height: 100 floors (as of April 2026)
Final height: Over 1,000 meters (around 3,281 feet). Its exact final height will be revealed upon completion.
Cost: Estimated to be between $1.2 billion and $2.7 billion, while the Jeddah Economic City is estimated to cost $20 billion.
Completion date: Projected to be completed by August 2028
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This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 7:55 AM.