Korean construction companies have reportedly decided not to participate in resuming the construction of the world’s tallest building in Jeddah, a resort city near the Red Sea. It has already been seven years since construction was halted due to local conditions in Saudi Arabia. Many experts say that even if the project resumes, it has a negative business prospect.
Neither Samsung C&T, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, nor Daewoo Engineering & Construction submitted bidding application forms for Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Tower by the deadline on Dec. 29, according to sources in the construction industry on Dec. 31, 2023.
Jeddah Tower will be the first skyscraper in the world to reach a height of 1008 meters (168 floors from the ground) with an estimated construction cost of US$1.23 billion.
In 2013, Saudi Binladin Group took over the construction of the tower and built up to the 50th floor, but the construction was halted in 2017 after a purge within the Saudi Arabian regime.
This year, Saudi Arabia sent invitations to bid to more than 10 construction companies in Korea, China, Austria, and Sweden to resume the construction. In Korea, top-three construction companies Samsung C&T, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, and Daewoo Engineering & Construction received invitations and considered whether or not to take part in the bid.
Among the three, Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Daewoo Engineering & Construction reportedly decided early on not to participate in the tender after studying business feasibility and risks.
However, Samsung C&T reportedly took longer to decide. Although the project’s political and economic risks are high, it was not easy for the contractor to give up its title as the construction company that built the world’s tallest building.
Samsung C&T built the 828-meter-tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which is the world’s tallest building at the moment, and the 508-meter-tall Taipei Financial Center building in Taiwan which was the tallest building before the completion of Burj Khalifa.
What’s more, American architect Adrian Smith who orchestrated the design of the Burj Khalifa also led the design of Jeddah Tower, so Smith has a strong connection with Samsung C&T.