Jeddah Economic Company (JEC) Ltd was formed in 2009 for the purpose of developing Kingdom City. JEC's assets have a book value of nearly SR 9bn.
Jeddah Economic Company (JEC) Ltd was formed in 2009 for the purpose of developing Kingdom City, Jeddah with the new Kingdom Tower as the project centerpiece. Principal JEC financiers are Kingdom Holding Company, Abrar Holding Company, owned by Samaual Bakhsh, Qila’a Jeddah Company, owned by businessman Abdulrahman Hassan Sharbatly, as well as Kingdom Tower’s primary contractor, Saudi Bin ladin Gr
oup. Jeddah Economic Company Ltd., that was co-founded by Kingdom Holding Company, in which it holds a substantial interest, is developing the Kingdom City, Jeddah. The project will feature the over 1,000-meter Kingdom Tower with approximately 5.3m square meters of new urban development to attract business and tourism. The tower aims to be an iconic marker of Jeddah’s historic importance as the gateway to the holy cities of Makkah & Madinah. Kingdom Tower Jeddah planning activities have attracted worldwide interest. It will comprise more than 500,000 square meters of floor space and feature a Four Seasons hotel, Four Seasons furnished apartments, first-class office space and luxury condominiums. No official floor count is yet supplied, but architects have stated there will be approximately 50 more floors than the 163-floor Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai, UAE. Kingdom Tower will also offer the world’s highest observation deck. Credit for the Kingdom Tower Jeddah vision goes to HRH Prince Alwaleed, who was closely involved in all facets of the planning, design and the selection of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architects (AS+GG) as principal architects. Prince Alwaleed, and the board were impressed by the boldness and simplicity of the AS+GG design. Kingdom Tower’s height is remarkable, and the building’s iconic status will not depend solely on that aspect. Its form is brilliantly sculpted, making it quite simply the most beautiful building in the world at any height. The tower’s great height requires one of the world’s most sophisticated elevator systems; the Kingdom Tower complex will feature 59 elevators, including 4 double-decker, and 2 triple- decker elevators. Elevators serving the observatory will travel at a rate of 10 meters per second. The project also takes advantage of new energy conservation technology. The tower is to feature a high-performance exterior wall system that will minimize energy consumption by reducing thermal loads. The entire Kingdom City project on the Red Sea coast includes residential units, commercial units, an international hotel, business offices, educational centres, a diplomatic area, commercial centres, entertainment and tourist facilities, and water sports activities, all within a modern city located in a to be determined strategic location set to be an attraction for business and tourism.
