ProposedArchitectural iconProposed — construction has not begun and no official timeline exists
Rise Tower
برج رايز
World's tallest building — if built to the proposed height
2008
metres (height)
678
floors
History
Rise Tower is a proposed 2,008-metre skyscraper in north Riyadh, part of an urban plan referred to as the "North Pole" district near King Khalid International Airport. Built to that height it would become the tallest building in the world, surpassing both the Burj Khalifa and Jeddah Tower.
This page is an honest tracker, not an announcement. What published reports state: a proposed height of 2,008 m, roughly 678 floors, a design attributed to Foster + Partners and HKS, an estimated cost of around five billion dollars, and attribution of the project to the Public Investment Fund.
What has not been announced as of this page's last update: no groundbreaking date, no contractor award, no approved final design, and no appearance of the project on the fund's own list of officially announced giga-projects. It remains at proposal and design-competition stage, and every circulating timeline — including a 2027 construction start — is unconfirmed.
We treat this project the way we treat the Mukaab: publish what has been announced, separate it clearly from what has not, and update the page at every documented development.
Signature feature
What is confirmed and what is not about Rise Tower
What reports publish: a proposed height of 2,008 m, roughly 678 floors, a design attributed to Foster + Partners and HKS, an estimated cost of about $5 billion, and a site in north Riyadh near King Khalid International Airport within the "North Pole" plan. An HKS concept associated with the project was recognised in the 2025 WAFX awards for climate and energy innovation.
What has not been announced: a groundbreaking date, contractor awards, an approved final design, or any confirmation from the Public Investment Fund that the project sits within its announced giga-project portfolio. No final structural specifications have been published either.
Why the distinction matters: projects at this scale change fundamentally between proposal and delivery — in height, design, schedule and sometimes in whether they happen at all. We will update this page at every sourced development, and we will not report circulating figures as final.
Photo gallery
Riyadh skyline — B.alotaby, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Height compared with global landmarks
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
2100
2008 m
1008 m
828 m
601 m
443 m
Rise Tower
Jeddah Tower
Burj Khalifa
Makkah Royal Clock Tower
Empire State Building
Scale comparison showing Rise Tower at 2008 m alongside well-known global landmarks at true scale. Jeddah Tower (1008 m) · Burj Khalifa (828 m) · Makkah Royal Clock Tower (601 m) · Empire State Building (443 m)
No. As of this page's last update the project remains at proposal and design-competition stage, with no announced groundbreaking date and no contractor award.
Will Rise Tower be the tallest building in the world?
Built to its proposed 2,008 m it would surpass the Burj Khalifa (828 m) and Jeddah Tower (about 1,000 m) to become the world's tallest. But that height is proposed rather than fixed, and no final structural design has been approved.
Who is behind Rise Tower and who designed it?
Published reports attribute the project to the Public Investment Fund and the design to Foster + Partners and HKS. The project does not, however, appear on the fund's own list of officially announced giga-projects.
Where would Rise Tower be built?
In north Riyadh near King Khalid International Airport, within a proposed urban district of roughly 18 sq km referred to as the "North Pole".
How much would Rise Tower cost?
The estimate circulating in published reports is about five billion US dollars. It is a press estimate rather than an official figure, and would normally change substantially before construction begins.
