Saudi Arabia suspends construction of the world's largest skyscrapper

A version of this article originally appeared in the Reuters.

Saudi Arabia has suspended construction activities on the Mukaab, the massive cube-shaped skyscraper planned for the center of the New Murabba district in Riyadh. According to reports from sources familiar with the matter, the decision to pause the project comes as the kingdom undergoes a broader review of its massive infrastructure spending. The suspension represents a shift in how the Saudi government is allocating resources toward its various "gigaprojects," which are central to the Vision 2030 initiative aimed at diversifying the economy away from oil.

The Mukaab was designed to be one of the largest built structures in the world, standing 400 meters high, wide, and long. It was intended to serve as the centerpiece of the New Murabba development, a 19-square-kilometer district in the northwest of Riyadh. The project was marketed as an immersive destination that would include residential units, hotel rooms, and retail space, all housed within a hollow architectural cube featuring a central tower.

Initial groundworks and excavation at the site had been progressing before the recent order to halt operations. The Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, is the primary backer of the New Murabba Development Company, which oversees the project. The fund has faced increasing pressure to manage its capital effectively as the kingdom balances multiple massive developments simultaneously, including the Neom urban area and various Red Sea tourism projects.

Economic analysts suggest that the kingdom is becoming more selective about which projects receive immediate funding. This prioritization is partly driven by the need to ensure that essential infrastructure is ready for major upcoming international events, such as the 2030 World Expo and the 2034 FIFA World Cup. While some projects are being accelerated to meet these deadlines, other projects like Mukaab are being put on hold to prevent overheating the domestic construction market and to manage national debt levels.

The suspension has immediate implications for the international firms involved in the design and engineering of the structure. Several global consultancies and construction management firms had already established local offices in Riyadh specifically to service the New Murabba development. Contractors will now have to decide whether to redeploy their staff and equipment to other active sites within the kingdom or wait for a potential restart date that remains unconfirmed.

Supply chain logistics in the Saudi construction sector have also been strained by the sheer volume of material required for these concurrent megaprojects. Steel, cement, and specialized machinery remain in high demand, and the pause on a project the size of the Mukaab may provide some temporary relief to the wider industry. However, it also introduces a level of uncertainty for investors who have backed the kingdom's ambitious urban expansion plans.

Despite the halt on the Mukaab, work continues on other elements of the Riyadh expansion. The city is currently undergoing a massive transformation of its public transport network, including the Riyadh Metro, which is nearing full operational status. The government has not officially stated how long the suspension on the Mukaab will last or if the project will undergo a significant redesign to reduce costs before work resumes.

The New Murabba project was expected to add billions to the non-oil GDP of Saudi Arabia upon its completion. For now, the site remains a vast excavation area as the government weighs the financial feasibility of the structure against its other strategic goals. This move mirrors previous adjustments made to the Line project in Neom, where original completion targets and scales were revised to align more closely with current fiscal realities.