Saudi Prince Plans Mile-High Tower In The Desert

Plans for a mile-high tower in the desert, which would be twice the height of the world's tallest building, have been unveiled by the multi-billionaire owner of the Savoy hotel in London.

The building, masterminded by British-based engineers, will be constructed in a "mini-city" near the Red Sea port of Jeddah. The project, almost seven times the height of the Canary Wharf tower, will overtake skyscrapers planned or under construction in Dubai and Kuwait. It means the Middle East has opened a strong gap over east Asia in the race for the world's tallest building.

The Mile High Tower is the brainchild of Prince al-Walid bin Talal, 51, a member of the Saudi royal family, who has a fortune estimated at £11 billion and is the world's 19th richest person, according to Forbes magazine. Al-Walid's Kingdom Holdings has appointed a joint venture set up by Hyder Consulting and Arup, the London enginerring firms, to build the £5 billion tower..

The building will be fitted with a giant computer-operated damper stretching down several floors - to counter the nausea-inducing sway caused by the wind. The building will also be stabilised by two mini-towers, flanking the building's base and attached to the main structure by arched sky-bridges.

Keep reading The Times' report

The Telegraph reports visitors will be able to see Africa from the top.

Some diagrams from the Daily Mail:

Here is the prince, far right, with President Bush:

Comments

[4Quarters]

04:52 PM on 04/01/2008

IF YOU killed someone today and jetted off to the jungles of Africa..they would find you and lock you up...So why would the PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES allow a group of people kill over 3,000 people and never go after them?????
Ask yourself what would be the motive NOT to bring those people to justice... OIL... Create an attack so that you can get the people to support war on WHAT??? Justice?? No... for OIL...5 years and no one significant arrested.
Everybody in the USA probably owns a gun...should they go to jail..NO. So why would a man that does have WMD go to his death...We got WMD and we build more weapons to go to war than any country.
Saudis control oil. We control 2%, use 50% to keep pumping products out to the market so we can spend our money. The Bush family and friends want the wealth of those individual oil giants by any means necessary.

[4Quarters]

04:40 PM on 04/01/2008

what EVERYBODY in the UNITED STATES needs be thinking about ..is how we had a president for 8 years that did nothing for this country productive...but yet, he is TOTALLY involved in Saudi visits, oil in the Middle East, baseball and cocaine. Everything he was involved in before he became president..and the same thing he will be involved in after...Yet we let him be all that he could be under our watch.
WE are so STUPID as a country...we bicker over race, gender, car types, house size while Government places us in harms way physically, financially and emotionally. Yet we let him be all that he could be under our watch.
IF gas prices continue to go up and they will..expect to see $7.00....strapped for cash students would not be able to afford school...many kids in private school will have to go to public school because their parents that drive them to school, then drive an hour or more to/from work everyday will falter. GUESS what...BUSH will still get rich now and later.

[WIpatriot]

10:07 PM on 04/01/2008

Want some perspective, 4Q? Half of the US population has an IQ of 100 or below.

[Christian]

11:30 PM on 04/01/2008

Yep, the bell curve tells the story.

[BlueBerryPickN]

02:40 PM on 04/01/2008

the DESERT!!

not JUST for skiing & TRADING BLOOD DIAMONDS anymore!!

http://www.skidxb.com/
In the last quarter of 2007, Dubai outsold NYC for moving diamonds...

===
Dubai targets Antwerp's crown
By Robert Ditcham, Staff Reporter,Published: June 23, 2006
http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/06/06/23/10048844.html

Dubai: For more than 400 years the Belgian city of Antwerp has been the global centre of the world diamond market, its highly-skilled craftsmen transforming rough stones into finely-worked gems.

But according to a founding member of the world's leading diamond manufacturer, it is in danger of losing its crown to Dubai. ..."
===

~~~
Spread Love...

BlueBerry Pick'n
can be found @
ThisCanadian com
~~~
"We, two, form a Multitude" ~ Ovid.
~~~
"Silent Freedom is Freedom Silenced"

[jpshotwheels]

01:18 PM on 04/01/2008

They can thank G. H.W. Bush and G.W. Bush, compliments of the American taxpayer. Folks don't be fooled, we are the ones that payed for it, have you seen the gas prices lately, thats how their paying for it. Then they take slave labor from Countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, to build these buildings, while they live in huts, and places not fit for humans.

The women that live in Saudi Arabia, have shopping malls, that would put ours to shame, but Why because they can't wear the outfits. Wake up America. The people that really attacks on 9/11 came from Saudi Arabia, compliments of the American Tax Payer.

[Horst]

10:26 AM on 04/01/2008

A Saudi erection....

[GravitonX]

08:38 AM on 04/01/2008

Wouldn't it be nice if instead of building mile-high stats symbols if they invested in improving the lot of destitute Saudis...

[ErnestineBass]

08:46 PM on 04/01/2008

Members of the Saudi ROIL family don't care anymore about their own people than members of the BOOOsh ROIL family cares about us. Get real. We are chattel. Serfs. Scum.

[Rounder99]

06:26 AM on 04/01/2008

When the oil is gone these jerks will be back to cutting each others heads off.

It is hard to describe the life style of these people, they treat housing developments like the old tent cities they had in the desert. The world would be better off if that whole part of the world just went away.

[larryfishkorn]

03:43 AM on 04/01/2008

Sounds like a good idea. You could have a big shopping mall in it, complete with a Starbucks, a Cinnabun, and a Borkas-R-Us.

Oh, and there's no need for them to worry about anyone flying planes into it. For that, you need moles inside the government to tell the Air Force to stand down while the nation is under attack. What's Arabic for "The Pet Goat"???

[WIpatriot]

09:56 PM on 04/01/2008

A building this size is its own city. Literally.

[Enid]

03:15 AM on 04/01/2008

You should see this guys SUV the tires are 8 to 10 feet off the ground you walk around inside like on ship. A monster SUV with kitchen and all too roam the desert.

This guy is into BIG.

He also has the BIG money .

No credit crunch with this guy.

[ErnestineBass]

02:51 AM on 04/01/2008

Another monument to man's folly.

[sicaW]

02:37 AM on 04/01/2008

With any luck the thing will fall over on him and W.

[JScott]

02:33 AM on 04/01/2008

Urbmons in the making:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Inside

kinda chilling really

[LiarLiarIraqsOnFire]

01:47 AM on 04/01/2008

No doubt Dick Cheney will be retiring to a penthouse suite there some day.

[Celldumceen]

12:45 AM on 04/01/2008

This guy probably has a really small penis! What other reason would there be for building a structure this high in a desert. People build up in places where space is at a premium, I don't think that is much of a concern in a country that is mostly desert like Saudi Arabia.

[LintLass]

01:42 AM on 04/01/2008

Awesome! If a mile-high penis in the desert is what it takes to get conservatives behind fuel conservation, I'm all for it. :)

[ErnestineBass]

02:56 AM on 04/01/2008

He coulda just bought a Corvette...but noooooo.

[BobSF94117]

05:13 PM on 04/01/2008

Yeah, miles and miles of sprawl would be so much preferable...

[justadood]

12:02 AM on 04/01/2008

big building to compensate for small p*n*s? Goodfolk, place your bets! It's also a safe bet that it's a symbol of conspicuous consumption...a rich spoiled little boy's way to shout "See what I have, what I can do!" It flies in the face of Quranic ideals of humility and charity (funds for this monstrosity could feed thousands for years).

Osama-boy...you taking notes? next bet--AQ will have a mole on the engineering team, to get copies of blueprints, to best design efficient and cheap means of destroying the Great Saudi P*n*s of the desert...