The North Pole
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Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has approached contractors over a proposed two-kilometre tower in northern Riyadh, testing market appetite for a project that would more than double the height of the world’s tallest building if it proceeds.

Several international and Saudi contractors have been contacted as part of a market-sounding exercise led by Tower District Real Estate Development Company, a PIF subsidiary, according to MEED. No construction tender has been issued and PIF has not publicly disclosed a development timeline or final commitment to build the tower.

The outreach is the latest sign of activity around the proposed tower and surrounding central business district. PIF received bids last year for project management consultancy services covering both developments, while Foster + Partners is working as architect after winning a design competition launched in late 2022, MEED reported.

Known as Project Rise, the proposed tower and business district form part of the wider North Pole masterplan north of Riyadh. Contractors familiar with megatall projects estimate a two-kilometre structure could cost about $5 billion to construct depending on its final design, although no official budget has been disclosed.

PIF plans to direct about 80% of its investments to the domestic economy through 2030, up from roughly 70% of deployment during the previous five-year period, while reducing the international share to about 20%, Reuters reported. Urban development and livability is one of six domestic ecosystems identified under the new strategy.

The fund is simultaneously trying to reduce its role as the sole source of capital. Its new strategy calls for more private-sector participation as investors, partners and suppliers, alongside greater efforts to attract international capital into Saudi projects. PIF describes its changing role as moving from the primary engine of growth toward creating platforms that allow other investors and businesses to scale.

That makes the next stage of Project Rise particularly important. Contractor outreach shows the proposal remains active, but does not amount to a decision to build it. Whether the two-kilometre tower advances toward procurement, and how a development of that scale would be financed under PIF’s more returns-focused strategy, have yet to be disclosed.

Source: https://www.constructionweeksaudi.com/pif/pif-project-rise-2km-riyadh-tower

Is this project still safe after the cancellation of multiple NEOM projects?

This is the future site of the North Pole.

https://x.com/ksa_tsar/status/1954543561958904201/

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/saudi-expatriatescom_risetower-riyadh-dubai-activity-7360295307177308160-iphK/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAB6DHsBsgu64x-WrdiBOoYM2GEXkUcAt_w

The project concerns the development of the master plan for the extension of the North Pole to accommodate 6 million inhabitants. The development focuses on public transportation-oriented principles and implementation of the 5-minute city concept. The main challenge is to create efficient public transportation systems and ensure accessibility as well as seamless logistics for the transfer of goods. The documents should comprehensively outline the hierarchy and characteristics of the road network, different types of services, and various modes of transportation for short-, medium-, and long-haul trips, including connections to Riyadh.

https://www.redasengineering.it/en/progetto/concept-master-plan-per-la-regione-dellarabia-saudia/

https://issuu.com/dangminh2606/docs/minh_ngo_work_portfolio

NEW : Firms prepare bids for Saudi Arabia’s 2km tower

Link : https://www.meed.com/firms-prepare-bids-for-saudi-arabias-2km-tower

Foster + Partners 'wins contract to design 2km-tall Saudi skyscraper'

The scheme is set to be twice the height of the current record holder, the 828-m-tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai designed by US-based Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), reported The Architects’ Journal.

The proposed record-breaking Riyadh skyscraper, which will come up on a site close to King Khalid International Airport, north of the Saudi capital, would be more than four times higher than Foster + Partners’ current tallest scheme: the 423m-tall JPMorgan Chase World Headquarters at 270 Park Avenue, New York, which is nearing completion, it stated

Source: https://www.zawya.com/en/projects/construction/foster-partners-wins-contract-to-design-2km-tall-saudi-skyscraper-hgey4s7b

What's the proposed height of that Aero Tower?