Saudi Arabia: We'll Have World's Tallest Building by 2020

For years, Saudi Arabia has had plans to construct the world's tallest building—and now, per a Saudi government press release, the financing is in place. The Jeddah Tower has already been built to the 26th floor, but there are many more to go; ultimately, the tower will boast 200 floors and stretch a full kilometer (3,280 feet) into the sky. The Jeddah Economic Company has signed a $2.2 billion financing deal with Alinma Investment to complete the tower and the surrounding Jeddah City, CNN reports. Upon completion, planned for 2020, it will break the record for the world's tallest building currently held by the 2,716-foot-tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

The tower, which will overlook the Red Sea, requires 200-foot-deep foundations in order to ensure the saltwater doesn't damage them. The tower will also change shape every few floors so that the wind won't buffet the building as badly as it would a solid block, one of the architects on the project explained to Construction Weekly in 2011. It will require 80,000 tons of steel and 5.7 million square feet of concrete. (More Saudi Arabia stories.)