Work has begun in Saudi Arabia on the “world’s biggest building” that will be 80 times larger than Big Ben.
It will be the centrepiece of the “New Murabba” futuristic city, a massive 11 square mile development in the capital Riyadh.
Around 900 workers are working on the project, and it is set to be completed by 2030, the New Murabba Development Company said.
The Mukaab – a cube-shaped skyscraper at the heart of the new city - will be the largest building in the world, standing at 1,300ft high and 1,200ft wide.
Construction begins on 'world's biggest building' that is 80 times larger than the Big Ben
New Murabba/Flickr
Inside it will offer a range of shops and cultural and tourist attractions, as well as residential units and hotels.
Inspired by the Najdi architectural style, the Mukaab will look nothing else like anything ever built in history, with its planners calling it “an act of innovation”.
The outer walls of the building will be fitted with virtual reality technology, and a promotional video shows holographic people, dragons and space crafts moving through the building.
Inside the superstructure will be a futuristic skyscraper larger than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
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Inside it will offer a range of shops and cultural and tourist attractions, as well as residential units and hotels
New Murabba
There will also be an internal transport system and it will be located just a 20-minute drive from the airport.
It was announced in 2023 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
It is being developed as part of Saudi Arabia's Saudi Vision 2030 project, which aims to reduce oil dependence, diversify the economy, and build up public service sectors.
Michael Dyke, chief executive officer of New Murabba, said the building will also be “most complicated ever”.
“When people step inside, they will enter another world. Within the Mukaab, we will have the world’s largest immersive experience by a long long way," he said.
“The particular callout will be the investment in holography. They will position the capital at the centre of holographic development globally.
“The central tower of the Mukaab is larger than the Eiffel Tower in terms of height and span.
The project was announced in 2023 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
Reuters
“It is the only high-rise in the building world of a skyscraper size that actually lives inside a building.”
However, the plans have come under fire due to its similarity to the Kaaba in Mecca, a stone building at the centre of Islam's most important mosque and holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram.
Human rights groups have also raised concerns about the swooping construction plans, which they fear could lead to labour exploitation.
The European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (ECDHR) said the project is only aiming to “whitewash” the numerous abuses that are still occurring.
Figures released just this week have claimed that at least 21,00 migrant workers have died whilst working on the Vision 2030 project.
Dr Frederic Schneider, an independent consultant on post-oil economic transitions in the Gulf region, told The Sun that the project’s aims would be almost impossible to achieve.
He said: “When Vision 2030 was first announced there was a lot of talk about that it was hugely ambitious.
“Many people from the start said, 'Okay, this is not only ambitious, that's almost impossible'.”
