Finnish Elevator Giant KONE Secures Vertical Mobility Contract for Jeddah Tower

KONE, a renowned Finnish engineering company, has set a significant milestone by securing a sub-contract to supply and install elevators and escalators for the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia. This project is poised to redefine the skyline of the Middle East and elevate the standards of engineering and construction. With the tower scheduled to rise over 1,000 meters, it is set to become the tallest building in the world. In this blog post, we will explore the significance of KONE's role in this landmark project, the expected impact on both regional and global construction industries, and what this win means for future mega-projects.

Project Overview

The Jeddah Tower represents one of the most audacious architectural endeavors in modern construction history:

• Location: Northern shores of the Red Sea in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, within the Jeddah Economic City development

• Height: Over 1,000 meters (1 kilometer), surpassing Dubai’s Burj Khalifa by more than 172 meters

• Total floors: 157 levels, with approximately 70 floors completed as of September 2025

• Project area: First phase covers 1.5 million square meters

• Estimated completion: August 2028

• Contract value: SAR 8 billion ($2.1 billion) main construction contract awarded to Saudi Binladin Group in 2024

High angle view of construction site of Jeddah Tower showcasing KONE's future installation area.

Delivery Partners and Key Stakeholders

The Jeddah Tower project brings together an international consortium of construction opportunities specialists:

• Developer: Jeddah Economic Company (JEC), a joint venture founded by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, including Kingdom Holding Company, Abrar Holding Company, Qila’a Jeddah Company, and Saudi Bin Laden Group

• Main contractor: Saudi Binladin Group (SBG), responsible for a 42-month construction contract

• Project management: Turner Project Management (US-based firm that also managed Burj Khalifa construction)

• Architecture: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (Chicago-based)

• Engineering consultant: Dar Al-Handasah (Shair & Partners), Lebanon

• Vertical mobility: KONE Corporation, Finland

• Previous contractors: Germany’s Bauer completed foundational piling work in the early 2010s

What This Means for KONE

The contract awarded to KONE is a testament to the company's expertise and reputation in the construction industry. In recent years, the Middle East has emerged as a hub for mega-projects, which has attracted global players with proven track records. For KONE, this contract solidifies its position within the competitive landscape.

Not only does it validate KONE’s capabilities in handling high-profile projects, but it also enhances its portfolio. Working on the Jeddah Tower allows KONE to leverage advanced technology and engineering methods, reinforcing its commitment to innovation. The opportunity to implement cutting-edge solutions will pave the way for KONE to refine its products and services, setting new industry benchmarks.

Construction and Technical Details

KONE’s contract delivers comprehensive sustainable building solutions tailored for extreme vertical transportation requirements:

• 29 KONE MiniSpace elevators with speeds up to 10 meters per second

• Seven KONE MiniSpace DoubleDeck elevators for high-capacity passenger flow

• Two KONE JumpLift construction-time elevators

• 21 KONE MonoSpace elevators

• Eight KONE TravelMaster 110 Escalators

• Advanced systems including KONE Destination Control System, KONE 24/7 Connect, and KONE E-Link remote monitoring

The tower will feature luxurious residential units, commercial offices, a luxury hotel, and the world’s highest observatory deck on the 157th floor. Infrastructure including electricity, water, sewage, flood drainage, and high-speed internet has already been installed across the development site.

Conceptual image of Jeddah Tower surrounded by futuristic skyline with other iconic structures.

Timeline

Understanding effective project management requires examining the tower’s complex construction history:

• 2013: Original project launch as “Kingdom Tower”

• 2014-2017: Active construction under Saudi Binladin Group, reaching 63 floors

• January 2018: Construction halted due to political and financial complications

• September 2023: Jeddah Economic Company reissued request for proposals

• October 2024: Contract awarded to Saudi Binladin Group to complete construction

• January 2025: Concrete pouring resumed, officially restarting construction

• April 2025: Tower reached 66th floor post-Ramadan

• September 2025: Construction advanced to 70th floor

• October 2025: KONE contract finalized and booked

• August 2028: Projected completion date

Strategic Importance

The Jeddah Tower serves as a cornerstone of Saudi Vision 2030, the kingdom’s ambitious economic diversification strategy. This project exemplifies how public-private partnerships can deliver transformational infrastructure that repositions regional cities on the global stage. Beyond its symbolic value as the world’s tallest structure, the tower anchors the broader Jeddah Economic City development, designed to stimulate tourism, attract international business, and create thousands of employment opportunities.

KONE’s involvement reflects the company’s strategic alignment with Saudi Arabia’s urban innovation goals. With over 60,000 employees globally and annual revenues of EUR 11 billion in 2024, KONE brings proven expertise in supertall building solutions, having equipped numerous landmark structures worldwide. The partnership demonstrates international confidence in Saudi Arabia’s construction sector and validates the kingdom’s capacity to deliver world-class giga projects.

Construction Opportunities

The Jeddah Tower project creates substantial market analysis insights for construction professionals seeking regional opportunities:

• Facade engineering contracts remain available as Saudi Binladin Group reactivates its supply chain

• Specialized high-rise construction expertise (concrete pumping, formwork systems, tower crane operations)

• MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) installation for luxury hospitality and residential specifications

• Interior fit-out packages for commercial, residential, and hotel spaces

• Smart building technology integration (IoT sensors, building management systems, energy optimization)

• Post-completion facilities management and maintenance services spanning decades

The broader Jeddah Economic City development offers additional packages across retail, entertainment, infrastructure, and mixed-use components, creating a multi-year pipeline of work.

Writer’s Opinion

Here is the uncomfortable truth about the Jeddah Tower: it may be engineering brilliance, but it is also a monument to inefficiency. Saudi Arabia is pouring billions into vertical spectacle while neighboring regions struggle with basic infrastructure deficits. The SAR 8 billion budget ($2.1 billion) could fund hospitals, schools, water treatment facilities, or renewable energy grids that would benefit millions rather than creating an observatory for wealthy tourists. KONE’s involvement is commercially savvy, but the elevator industry should ask whether moving people one kilometre skyward represents genuine progress or merely architectural vanity wrapped in Vision 2030 rhetoric.

The seven-year construction hiatus (2018 to 2025) reveals another problem: megaprojects in autocratic environments suffer from political volatility that undermines long-term planning. While Turner Project Management and KONE bring world-class credentials, they are ultimately serving a development model that prioritizes symbolic achievement over pragmatic urban development. The construction industry should celebrate technical innovation without pretending that building the world’s tallest tower constitutes sustainable or equitable infrastructure development.