part of me is sad huge projects like this are cancelled, not seeing what could've been, but at the same time they're mainly vanity projects, and do little to improve the lives of the people living in the area. Still its crazy the amount of money spent for something that may never be finished.
Same can be said to most maga project. The 632m Shanghai Tower (Second tallest in the world at completion, and tallest public observation deck as 2022 at 563m) is built solely to one up the 492m tall Japanese-developed Shanghai World Financial Center. The building had difficulty leasing spaces and the hotel.
@@Bobspineable a lot of the time they bring people in to work on the projects for cheaper labour, not sure if that happened here but its common practice. As for the office spaces a lot of these projects struggle to fill the offices, and already existing companies moving in won't make many new hires.
@@Bobspineable What? The slave labour? Honestly, this kind of projects are built with the sweat and blood of underpaid immigrant workers. Also, which jobs would be created afterwards that benefit locals? Have you seen their GDP per capita? They all are basically millionaires, they don't need jobs and we need not to waste an ounce of sympathy for them.
I hate that companies aren't forced to demolish the ruins of their buildings. I live near a coast and when driving through the beautiful coastline there's a section where you see a few abandoned condo buildings between the road and the sea. The companies went under or cancelled the project after 2008 and those shells of a building are still there muddying our sight
@@RoboRoby321 I understand your point, but as an urban explorer, I hope more abandoned buildings are left alone. Once they get demolished their history and purpose is forever forgotten.
These places just always make me think about where the workers would live. Like, this whole place just seems built around a top heavy economic structure without thinking about the people who would actually work the counters, clean the floors and sweep the streets. I’m gonna assume they weren’t planning on putting affordable housing next to their ritzy malls and hotels.
There's little affordable housing in most extremely rich areas, don't have to go further than NY, LA etc to see exactly this. The rich don't want to blend with the poor, this is a universal human trait.
When I was working in Saudi I got to travel around many areas. I found it funny to see many large royal palaces abandoned in remote sites. I was told these were built for the king but most of them he visited once or twice and he never returned. I thought that was a big waste of money back then.
@fahadsumman8159 My Saudi friend told me no one ever goes inside them they were built in the 1960s they had no huge walls. You could see they were empty and they were falling apart, I will tell my Saudi friend you called him a liar he is related to the Royal Family. Why are you so troubled all countries have abandoned unused buildings.
@@ler3968 Because you specifically mention “built for the king” and that’s where ur incorrect. Also which king are you talking about? Because since the 60’s there has been a few and you say “king” so you singled one out which one??
Jaddah tower is the embodiment of everything I hate in modern tower development. They built it purely as a vanity project, not because it would actually be useful. You're generally not meant to start with tall buildings and then build the rest of the city around it. Tall buildings are supposed to develop naturally as demand requires, over the course of many decades. Projects like this happen when a rich fool gets a grandiose vision in their head, but they aren't patient enough to develop such a project realistically. They think it's like a game of Sim CIty were you can just build an entire city the way you want it, with a magical flood of demand following thereafter. Another classic example of this is the Azerbaijan tower/Khazar islands. Billionaire Ibrahim Ibrahimov literally came up with the idea on a flight whilst returning from Dubai, he then quickly scribbled it down on a napkin and ordered his people to start planning it. They ended up building some of the reclaimed land required for it (as the whole thing stretches into the sea, like Dubai's palm islands), built a few avenues and... that's about it. The project stalled, for the usual reasons.
@@staringcorgi6475 They're all vanity projects, there's no reason for them to go up when going laterally would give exponentially more surface area. Ex: Lake point tower. Which is 620 feet tall. The same height as Seattles space needle. Seattles Columbia tower (76floors) is 969 feet tall. A full 50% taller with 9% more floors.
I’ve lived most of my life in Saudi Arabia since my parents were overseas workers. I’ve passed through that construction site countless times during my time and years upon years I was kinda curious to what it would look like when it’s finished. Crazy how projects like these stagnate. Great vid, gave me huge memories of Saudi Arabia. Love from the Philippines 🇵🇭
Good news. Jeddah Economic Company (owner) has signed a 7.2B Riyals (1.9B USD) with Bin Laden group to resume construction to finish the 1st phase (Tower&Commercial center). The project will take 42 months
on October 2nd 2024, Kingdom Holding Co. signed a 7.2 billion SAR deal with Saudi Binladen Group to continue the project and is now planned to complete phase 1 in 2028, which contains the 1000m tower, a mall and more.
Love the progression of it all Burj Khalifa - Half Empty Jeddah Tower - Half Finished GOOD! Keep it up, its only being built to flex, nothing else and they can't even do that right. Let it fail.
For mega structures it often helps to have a strong local economy to support their creation. I would've started with the city first, maybe a school. Prestigious Universities are a good way to get your city on the radar.
I worked on this master plan around 2007 and thought it was nuts back then. I was just a low-level GIS tech but I noticed one of my buddy's ghost humans in the mall render. The red shirt with weird pants at 2:08. Red shirt appears in Toronto and Amman renders as well. His name was "weird pants".
@@BrightSunFilms I do think slave labor was a part of why this got cancelled, I remember all the controversy over migrants dying to build Qatar's massive stadium for the 2022 World cup so it wouldn't shock me if several workers died trying to build this monstrosity and SA covered it up and decided it was best to put the project on ice.
@@jadedheartszthat’s true but the sad reality is that the migrant laborers die on every project and they don’t care, this one wouldn’t be covered up specifically since it’s so common. I can’t help but look at every one of these middle eastern projects and have a hatred for them because they were built on the deaths of my people.
As a Boy Scout I would like to see an abandoned episode on Treasure Island on the Delaware River, it has such rich history and a very hopeful future. Edit: Treasure Island is a Boy Scout camp that was opened in 1915 and abandoned in 2008
You should change your laws and treat women better. It's disgusting the way you and your country disrespects all women. Stop making women wear black tents in the desert.
@@CastorRabbitIt's hard for Westerners to understand, but the manual workers in the Middle East are generally getting a better deal there than back home, otherwise they'd all stop going there altogether. In countries like India, Pakistan, etc. manual labor pays literally less than pennies. In the Middle East, they may take your passport and all, but you'll at least have enough money to send home and keep your family afloat.
10/4/24 Update: According to CNN, construction on Jeddah Tower has officially restarted (even though they claimed it as early as 2023) and the tower finally has an expected completion date: 2028! Maybe this will have a happy ending, like the Fountainbleau in Las Vegas! Stay tuned!
Arabs have been around sabd so long, they wouldn't even understand that. Imagine being an average joe and flying to a country JUST to look at a building. I mean unless you're an architect, likely not gonna happen.
I remember always tuning in every month or so to see how the tower’s construction was going. It’s sad to see that it is still delayed, and now may not even be completed.
Why? Most middle eastern skyscrapers are nothing more than ego builders for the monarchy's that control their nations. All that wasted money that could of been used to better the lives of their people they just burn away on empty buildings that do nothing but send money to european engineering and Chinese construction companies. Every failure is a victory for the average middle eastern citizen.
I prefer if they don't. SA & UAE projects aren't exactly built on great terms. Most of them just looks like too much money & barely any brains at the top. Focusing on better local terraforming & public facilities (including the plumbing) looks to be a far, _far_ better use of their wealth. But they won't ever do those...not with their attitudes.
@@mar07in but unlike every other issue... ...this one take their workers' passports, force them into destitute living (where their original countries' living are better), and ban them from ever leaving until you don't have a physically fit working body anymore.
@@TheRibbonRed I used to live in That part of the world, those countries usually compete in building taller or bigger mega projects and skyscrapers,they could’ve done way more for us instead of wasting so much money on nothing
I remember when this channel was small enough that I could send a message to Jake and he would have a casual conversation with me. It's come a lonnngg way in terms of views, and the quality of his content has only gotten better with every video.
I’m forever fascinated by the audacity of these projects in that region of the world. First by the absurd amount of money to be spent but also why anyone would want to do business in the Kingdom. MBS is a vicious killer who routinely rounds up foreign business workers and jails them on trumped up charges of embezzlement and crimes against the crown etc etc. I’ve read a full 25% of his projects never see the light of day and work just stops and no one ever asks what happened and others jump in for their chance to make millions of not billions
This is the fundamental problem isn’t it - no sane international business would site their regional HQ there because no one wants to live there because of the laws and business is difficult because of corruption. They need to get a reality check about how the rest of the world sees them and why - a westerner taking their family there would need to be slightly crazy. If you wanted to do business from this locale you would probably choose the UAE for all these reasons
@@graemelow7516 completely agree. You’d be much safer doing business in the UAE. I can’t tell you how many reports on 60 Minutes and the like talk about some poor international business guy who was locked up and tortured for years because somebody saved themselves by giving up an innocent man. In light of the whole Khashoggi murder how can anyone in any position trust MBS? Look what the man has done to his daughters! We have not seen the one who escaped to India on a yacht and was promptly recaptured by a damn Saudi spec-ops team operating on foreign soil smh. I hope she’s still alive but I suspect not sadly. It’s a clusterfuck over there Graeme. Cheers
meanwhile, Americans complain about having to build handi-cap accessible bathrooms and entrances, and the patrons complain if the owner hangs a picture of a POTUS they didn't vote for. Imagine dropping the average family from San Francisco into a place like Saudi Arabia?!?! hahahahahahahaha. suddenly the "sys white male" culture wouldn't seem quite as oppressive and intolerant now would it? hahahahaha
@@knickd1979 yes I agree that western countries are concerned about the dumbest things but your point about bringing people to SA to live would be funny at first then very sad as the morality police started locking up and torturing them left and right. The Kingdom sure did brag about their record 81 public executions in one afternoon last year! Nobody wants to work under such looming pressure. And our great dope of a president Biden giving MBS full immunity in the Khashoggi murder just made me absolutely sick to my stomach smh. How anyone could consider him trustworthy when he’s orchestrated the torture and murder of how many people including his own daughter! The man is a sociopath despot who uses the Quran and oil as shields to hide his depravity
I live in Jeddah and I will tell u the real reason why it was shut. Pretty simple yet bluntly saying The CEO who was arrested his ego was hurt and he stopped the project.
Irony, NOTHING from the Middle East shows off THEIR engineering prowess. We hire Saudi’s because we have to, but between arriving late, leaving early, smoke breaks, prayer breaks and coffee breaks, their productivity is a tenth of all the expats (while they still expect a good salary) So all the engineering is done by foreigners. Foreigners the locals treat with contempt. These projects are 100% ego based. It is the equivalent of wrapping your sports car in gold (a notoriously heavy metal). Now where have I seen a gold wrapped sports car? Oh wait, Middle East as well. PS. Abandoned half built projects is extremely common in Saudi. This is just a big one.
This is very sad. When i was younger this was one of the reasons i got into the engineering and welding inspection field. The opportunity to work on such a site...a world changing building was inspiring. Very sad to see it was pushed by the wayside. The burj khalifa was awesome to work on, hope i get the chance to go back to Dubai in the future and do another project.....the burj makes me shed a tear every time i look at it, because i know it inside and out. top to bottom of foundation. The Jeddah would have been something else....sad.
Recently graduated as a civil engineer, I became interested in the field after my family moved to Dubai. I never get sick of looking at these massive buildings and marvels of engineering. Ironically though I ended up enjoying water and wastewater engineering more than structural design haha.
Isn't the but khalifa is that one building which doesn't even have waste treatment properly installed ? That they have to haul all the shit and waste using trucks and makes congestion on the road.. build with the help of slaves with no proper wage, none standard of living whatsoever ~
@@elievalkyrie9736 part of the reason that was a thing was because it wasn't supposed to be used until that was done, Dubai has a really wonky sewage network. Not just the burj, it's the whole downtown really. I think it has since been fixed though.
This sounds like the North Korean hotel story, just for a new generation. -Vanity project -Unnecessary (rather because there’s more than enough space or not enough people) -Corruption hindering work -Left incomplete and abandoned -National embarrassment
@@RavenFilms Complete nonsense. Jeddah is a city of 5 million people - much larger than Dubai. It is modern and well-laid out. You clearly know nothing about Kingdom Holding Company or who owned it and what that person is doing today. Inform yourself before wasting time scribbling a list of garbage.
There are a lot of comments on here about foreign labour. Many employers in the middle east often treat migrant workers as slaves. Tjis is and always has been common. Many years ago Pakistani friends explained to me that Pakistani workers were not even considered to be "the right sort of muslim" so could be treated as inferior people. This includes women working in homes as well as men working in construction etc. Their passports are confiscated so they cannot easily leave. They are contracted on restrictive visas so cannot change employers. They are often badly housed as well as physically ill treated from beatings to rape. From poor diet to near starvation. There have been occasional cases in the UK where an "servant" brought in with the family manages to escape and find help.
well it does to you guys how did it work out btw high crime rates high drug usage a president who after one fall will fade into dust we are good yall are good peace is better then forcing countrys to live like yours
The site for JEC is in the middle of nowhere and so far away from anything else in Jeddah... I remember being in disbelief when I drove past a puzzling concrete structure sticking out of the dessert back in 2016. Somewhat validating to learn it still looks like that 😂
You mentioned the NY Freedom tower only being 1770 ft tall, but it's really architecturally 1,776 ft tall and 1,792 ft at the tip of the spire. I say this because the architectural 1776ft portion is important for a reason.
I lived in Jeddah from 2013 till 2018. There was something off about the construction whenever I'd drive past it, it didnt feel active at all and you could tell this was not going anywhere
I did never explore city of Jeddah, but I spent 9 hours in Jeddah airport. A very beautiful airport. I did fly trough via Etihad during Ramadan. Since I had long a layover the security of the airport did show me a nice clean shower and I could get unlimited food and rest on sofa. I just had economy class cheap ticket. I was surprised about the welcoming and comfort. I still don't understand why. I could see other passengers not allowed to go to showers and have free food, but for some reason I got all the hospitality. The airport was very huge and beautiful, but little people around. Maybe, cause of Ramadan.
Jeddah airport was designed by a UK company and managed through to completion by the same company. thats why it worked - no involvement by the locals except under the direction of a sensible set of engineers.
I dont know if anthing will pass the burj. As a Chicagoan I was hopeful for the spire but that didn't work. But if anything does it'll be a spectical just like the burj. Great Video jake!
I grew up in Jeddah in the 60s & 70s, my family had a very rustic beach cabin on the Red Sea inlet, shown near the tower. That used to be a 45 min drive from Jeddah & there was next to nothing out there. How sad to see it covered w/ development now.
I’ll be surprised if they even start building that thing, but if they do, I’m sure it’ll show up on this channel in a few years. A single thin long line is far and away the stupidest possible layout for a city.
@@Sashazur I saw pictures a few days ago that were said to be the start of construction on that project. Didn’t bother double checking though, I doubt it will be finished. It sounds like an idea that was conceived by a dictator without a lot of wise thought put into it. Kind of like the Jeddah Tower.
Beautiful idea, frankly. Would've been one heck of a sight to see from any angle. Not gonna shed any tears for this loss, though. The House of Saud and their many bouts of egotistical building and _many_ other issues have really put a damper on any sort of blue-sky-ing to be had about any of those projects of theirs.
I was actually named after this city. I remember being so excited when I heard about the tower being built and my middle school self wanted to tell people a tower was built and named after me. I honestly had forgotten about this project. Sad to see it will most likely never be completed.
@@marcd7332 I did and it makes zero sense. The only thing I got from it is that Joel (the replier) 100% has a “illegal” collection in his computer. All’s im saying.
I hope that "The Line" Prince Bin Salman's new project will be dropped like this one. Both are architectural and environmental monstrosities. We are simply not surprised that this is the iconic project of a mad prince, who has his detractors strangled and cut into pieces...
One thing he has not developed is the ability to present. Text delivered at a uniform rate with zero inflection simply does not cut it, mostly because it is barely comprehensible.
As someone fortunate to have travelled to Dubai back in 2015 for the BK, obviously this was a huge interest to me architecturally. But, as we all saw, the "me to" desire of Jeddah and SA simply hasn't captured the eyes like Dubai's successful efforts had. Now, what if the corruption purges never happened? Hard to say. Maybe the tower would've been finished. But now with SA focusing on NEOM / The Line integrated city and as you said, the funding mostly removed from JEC, I do wonder if they'll just leave this to sit in the sands. At least the crazy reinforced frame will last a very, very long time.
I'm an expat in Saudi and visit some of those private resorts on the Red Sea. We've always wondered what the deal was with this thing that has been sitting abandoned for years. It is a nice landmark you can always see when your out on a boat snorkeling/diving though!
Should do one of these on the Sky City tower that was aimed to be built in China. A prefabricated tower that supposedly was to be taller than Burj Khalifa and only take 90 days to build.
Maybe it's better to finish the building at the current height (it's already beautiful and potentially useful in its current state, just redesign the infrastructure to fit the shorter size). And then use the remaining budget to develop the neighborhood.
Just drive down the Las Vegas Strip. You will see plenty of abandoned towers, sitting there way longer than this one in Jeddah. Also, not sure why what is there now would have to be demolished. Just top it off at this level and finish what you have, forget going up to 1000 meters, as that was never needed in the first place.
Still boggles my mind that anyone would want to live in the desert. Especially with the way the climate is going. Sure, you can build a fancy building with air conditioning and all that. But what about when you have to go out on a 40C+ scorching hot temperature? Madness.
I remember reading bout this and I am surprised it hasn't been completed, if it will ever be. It could have been similar to that idea of The Illinois, a 528 super building that was more of just a vision, ironically enough, Jeddah Tower took some inspiration from it.
I'm always looking forward to a new episode of Abandoned. Jake... You are so amazing. And your voice is like Asmr to me. Keep up the bloody epic work. I've been following you for along time now. You never scese to amaze me how hard you work to bring such awesome Abandoned episodes. Love from Kelowna BC Canada 🇨🇦 💕
I think you should do an episode on ShopKo. They've been out of business now for a number of years and I think it would be cool to know the full history of the company.
Haven't watched the video yet, but the topic certainly intrigued me right away as soon as I saw the title. I always remember whenever I'd look up about the tallest towers in the world and the Jeddah Tower was constantly talked about as something that would eventually surpass the Burj Khalifa in height once it's completed and take its place as the tallest tower. Part of me was sorta waiting to see it finished because of my sense of wonder as a child or something like that, but over time I sorta lost interest and I rarely heard it being talked about until today. Am curious to see what happened to it.
I don't understand why these giant skyscrapers need glass windows. It seems like a huge "death ray" accident waiting to happen when the sun hits it in the right spot and reflect on some unfortunate soul on the ground.
What else can one expect of dictatorships. “Absolute power corrupts… absolutely….” Doesn’t matter if its enterprise, free thinking, liberty… be it Jeddah Tower of Terror, or other ‘Neom-ithic’ thinking. In a democracy, failure is a partner of success. , in a dictatorship it is all a mirage.
If anything the 20th century has taught us about urban planning is that it usually goes horribly wrong. The best cities are not designed by men but grow organically out of actual geography, human behavior and economics. 80,000 residents will not provide the number of consumers needed to support the Jeddah Economic City as designed. Consumers can not be artificially generated. They can only arise naturally and if they dont, your well planned city of tomorrow is doomed.
Wow! I am surprised this tower is abandoned. However, when the islands tanked in the sea, it may just be, like the Jeddah Tower, something that just did not fulfill its expectations. With the hot weather you would think foreign offices would fill a building that has it all.
I always find it funny how computer graphics show these incredible structures and people fall for it hook, line and sinker every time. When fantasy meets reality hindsight is a wonderful thing.
The wide and flat road in front of this project the Jeddah Economic City / Kingdom (Jeddah) Tower was a very good place for a fast marathon course. This road is where I got to earn my personal best in half marathon.
It's kind of sad to think that this maginificent skyscraper will never be completed, but just think about how many people won't have to die in the construction process.
It will be completed and no one will die building it. The main problem was that the contractor (bin laden group) had an accident in another project that got them sued causing delays in most of their projects. Stop believing the media lies about workers dying. All large projects follow strict safety guidelines and workers are happy with their pay and work conditions because it’s much better than they can get in any other country.
@@mrziad92 Everything you stated is patently false, pull your head out of the sand. This is the biggest farce the Saudi's have ever pulled on themselves. Several other towers will be completed that are taller, long before this scam is demolished.
@@mrziad92 it's adorable that you don't think slave labour won't be used to finish the building and that people won't die Multiple people died building the Burj Khalifa and hundreds have died during the preparations for the Qatar World Cup and yet you don't think slaves will die building a 1km tall monument to tiny cocks in a country known for its disregard for people's lives? God I wish I could be that naive, my life would be so much better if I was so blissfully ignorant
@@mrziad92 also I can't help but assume you live in SA or another Middle Eastern country? I only say that because you've clearly swallowed the propaganda fed to you, which is kinda sad
Another good video by you jake. I've always wondered about what happened to the Jeddah Tower there's so much hype surrounding it online and everything and then it just kind of fizzled out. When it really comes down to it people just don't have the finances or scandals happening as well as other outside forces keeping it from being done there's always a reason. That's how I feel but you never know the tower could go up one day. Anyway keep up the good work with the videos I enjoy it.
I worked in Jeddah from '80-'83. Back then that area north of "The Creek" was pretty much as you describe now, scattered (largely run-down) vacation homes and villas with plenty of space between them. We scuba dived every weekend on the coast right where the building is. Another angle that you might look into is that, ironically, the sand that Saudi Arabia largely consists of is totally unsuitable for producing high strength concrete. Couple that with the fact that virtually all water there is produced via oil fired desalination, and you end up with insanely expensive concrete compared with many other places.
It's direct evidence of the level of intelligence and future planning skills these people have. Maybe these sand dwelling people have a little too much money and are a little too impressed by a CGI presentation.
Honestly trying to build the next 'tallest' skyscaper is the most pointless exercise. What makes a city skyline standout isn't simply a matter of height, what is require is a unique silhouette. If someone takes a marker and draw a shape and people can immediately tell what it is. That's iconic. Sydney Opera House, Statue of Liberty, Burj Al Arab, Marina Sands Bay, Space Needle, Leaning Tower of Pisa even by accident. They are all recognizable by a shape.
"Show of a nation's engineering prowess" means nothing when what they're actually doing is "showing off how much engineering prowess they can hire from other nations by spending a ton of irreplaceable oil money."
part of me is sad huge projects like this are cancelled, not seeing what could've been, but at the same time they're mainly vanity projects, and do little to improve the lives of the people living in the area. Still its crazy the amount of money spent for something that may never be finished.
Same can be said to most maga project. The 632m Shanghai Tower (Second tallest in the world at completion, and tallest public observation deck as 2022 at 563m) is built solely to one up the 492m tall Japanese-developed Shanghai World Financial Center.
The building had difficulty leasing spaces and the hotel.
@@Bobspineable a lot of the time they bring people in to work on the projects for cheaper labour, not sure if that happened here but its common practice. As for the office spaces a lot of these projects struggle to fill the offices, and already existing companies moving in won't make many new hires.
@@Bobspineable jobs for whom? Ultra-wealthy people (the target demographic) don't need jobs.
@@Bobspineable What? The slave labour? Honestly, this kind of projects are built with the sweat and blood of underpaid immigrant workers. Also, which jobs would be created afterwards that benefit locals? Have you seen their GDP per capita? They all are basically millionaires, they don't need jobs and we need not to waste an ounce of sympathy for them.
And the waste of raw resources which could have been spent on existing aging infrastructures like roads and water aqueducts
Unlike most abandoned places, this one just sticks out and you can literally never ignore it lol.
I hate that companies aren't forced to demolish the ruins of their buildings. I live near a coast and when driving through the beautiful coastline there's a section where you see a few abandoned condo buildings between the road and the sea. The companies went under or cancelled the project after 2008 and those shells of a building are still there muddying our sight
good target practice for the air force
@pootis those buildings are just the shell lmao literally floor ceiling and concrete stairs, not even walls got put up
@@fatdoi003 Why can't ISLAMIC JIHADIs fly planes into those Buildings?
@@RoboRoby321 I understand your point, but as an urban explorer, I hope more abandoned buildings are left alone. Once they get demolished their history and purpose is forever forgotten.
These places just always make me think about where the workers would live. Like, this whole place just seems built around a top heavy economic structure without thinking about the people who would actually work the counters, clean the floors and sweep the streets. I’m gonna assume they weren’t planning on putting affordable housing next to their ritzy malls and hotels.
There's little affordable housing in most extremely rich areas, don't have to go further than NY, LA etc to see exactly this. The rich don't want to blend with the poor, this is a universal human trait.
As of now, the Jeddah Tower has FINALLY started resuming construction. Unfortunately, it is unknown when it will be completed.
2028
When I was working in Saudi I got to travel around many areas. I found it funny to see many large royal palaces abandoned in remote sites. I was told these were built for the king but most of them he visited once or twice and he never returned. I thought that was a big waste of money back then.
Damn
That's a hell of a metaphor for ringing so true it's painful
Not true
@fahadsumman8159 My Saudi friend told me no one ever goes inside them they were built in the 1960s they had no huge walls. You could see they were empty and they were falling apart, I will tell my Saudi friend you called him a liar he is related to the Royal Family. Why are you so troubled all countries have abandoned unused buildings.
@@ler3968 Because you specifically mention “built for the king” and that’s where ur incorrect. Also which king are you talking about? Because since the 60’s there has been a few and you say “king” so you singled one out which one??
Always a good day when there's a new Abandoned episode.
Damn right
Fully agreed.
Damn right!
Yeah it is
For sure!
Jaddah tower is the embodiment of everything I hate in modern tower development. They built it purely as a vanity project, not because it would actually be useful.
You're generally not meant to start with tall buildings and then build the rest of the city around it. Tall buildings are supposed to develop naturally as demand requires, over the course of many decades. Projects like this happen when a rich fool gets a grandiose vision in their head, but they aren't patient enough to develop such a project realistically. They think it's like a game of Sim CIty were you can just build an entire city the way you want it, with a magical flood of demand following thereafter.
Another classic example of this is the Azerbaijan tower/Khazar islands. Billionaire Ibrahim Ibrahimov literally came up with the idea on a flight whilst returning from Dubai, he then quickly scribbled it down on a napkin and ordered his people to start planning it. They ended up building some of the reclaimed land required for it (as the whole thing stretches into the sea, like Dubai's palm islands), built a few avenues and... that's about it. The project stalled, for the usual reasons.
All sky scrapers are vanity projects
I aint reading that all but yeah I agree ig
I would like for him to do a video about the Azerbaijan Tower/Khazar Islands.
@@rhetoric5173 but stuff like the wtcs empire state buiding and sears towers had a purpose like providing office space
@@staringcorgi6475 They're all vanity projects, there's no reason for them to go up when going laterally would give exponentially more surface area.
Ex: Lake point tower. Which is 620 feet tall. The same height as Seattles space needle. Seattles Columbia tower (76floors) is 969 feet tall. A full 50% taller with 9% more floors.
I’ve lived most of my life in Saudi Arabia since my parents were overseas workers. I’ve passed through that construction site countless times during my time and years upon years I was kinda curious to what it would look like when it’s finished. Crazy how projects like these stagnate. Great vid, gave me huge memories of Saudi Arabia. Love from the Philippines 🇵🇭
@dejuren they weren’t contractors but office workers that went overseas. Apologies for not making it clear
ever visit KAUST while you were there?
@@amayajackson4818 I lived there!
@@johncassell5910 Same! Did u go to TKS???
@@amayajackson4818 yeah! I was there from grades 1-5
Good news. Jeddah Economic Company (owner) has signed a 7.2B Riyals (1.9B USD) with Bin Laden group to resume construction to finish the 1st phase (Tower&Commercial center). The project will take 42 months
on October 2nd 2024, Kingdom Holding Co. signed a 7.2 billion SAR deal with Saudi Binladen Group to continue the project and is now planned to complete phase 1 in 2028, which contains the 1000m tower, a mall and more.
Love the progression of it all
Burj Khalifa - Half Empty
Jeddah Tower - Half Finished
GOOD! Keep it up, its only being built to flex, nothing else and they can't even do that right. Let it fail.
For mega structures it often helps to have a strong local economy to support their creation. I would've started with the city first, maybe a school. Prestigious Universities are a good way to get your city on the radar.
They're only known for oil and bestial murder.
yeah sure you would attract many students with sharia law
Never heard of universities in dubai and qatar
@@Tonyx.yt. ure ignorant
Starting with a functional sewer system (unlike Dubai) is a good start.
Dubai still doesn’t have a mains water or sewage system covering the city.
These buildings may be abandoned but this channel certainly isn't; good work as always, my dude.
Haha thanks!
@@BrightSunFilms We absolutely love the work and hours you put in your videos Jake,keep going!
@@BrightSunFilms WTF is a "Feet", who's foot are using using to masure, use metric you savage!
We never abandoned bright sun films
I worked on drawings for this building at a firm in Chicago. What a waste
Oceanwide Plaza in Los Angeles has been abandoned since 2019 with 3 49 story residential towers connected by a podium.
I wondered, when I will see an opening of this skyscraper, now I'm watching a video about this skyscraper as an abandoned building.
I worked on this master plan around 2007 and thought it was nuts back then. I was just a low-level GIS tech but I noticed one of my buddy's ghost humans in the mall render. The red shirt with weird pants at 2:08. Red shirt appears in Toronto and Amman renders as well. His name was "weird pants".
I will always to continue to love the abandoned series. Thanks Jake for putting up such great content ♥️
Thank you so much!
@@BrightSunFilms I do think slave labor was a part of why this got cancelled, I remember all the controversy over migrants dying to build Qatar's massive stadium for the 2022 World cup so it wouldn't shock me if several workers died trying to build this monstrosity and SA covered it up and decided it was best to put the project on ice.
@@BrightSunFilms the jeddah tower is gonna collapse before it beats the burn Khalifa
@@BrightSunFilms He’s so mad at The line cuz the queen didn’t build for their country anything impressive 😂
@@jadedheartszthat’s true but the sad reality is that the migrant laborers die on every project and they don’t care, this one wouldn’t be covered up specifically since it’s so common. I can’t help but look at every one of these middle eastern projects and have a hatred for them because they were built on the deaths of my people.
Jake needs to narrate more series he's got a perfect voice for this.
I don't like it, weird affectation, he can't even pronounce "vague" right.
As a Boy Scout I would like to see an abandoned episode on Treasure Island on the Delaware River, it has such rich history and a very hopeful future.
Edit: Treasure Island is a Boy Scout camp that was opened in 1915 and abandoned in 2008
Just a note, currently in Jeddah, they have begun construction again, but the height now will only reach approx. 480meters.
Source?
@@Bruno-P trust me bro
😂😂😂
Do they plan to have a pizzeria
I live in Jeddah and every time I see it I feel emptyand sad, thank you for making my country part of my favorite series
you should laugh at its stupidity
allah does not exist. proud to be an ex-muslim
Try working on it for real sadness
You should change your laws and treat women better. It's disgusting the way you and your country disrespects all women. Stop making women wear black tents in the desert.
@@CastorRabbitIt's hard for Westerners to understand, but the manual workers in the Middle East are generally getting a better deal there than back home, otherwise they'd all stop going there altogether. In countries like India, Pakistan, etc. manual labor pays literally less than pennies. In the Middle East, they may take your passport and all, but you'll at least have enough money to send home and keep your family afloat.
It was only a matter of time before this became an Abandoned episode - surprised this wasn't an Abandoned episode back in 2020
we have all missed you and your amazing videos, it's informative, fun and addictive!
10/4/24 Update: According to CNN, construction on Jeddah Tower has officially restarted (even though they claimed it as early as 2023) and the tower finally has an expected completion date: 2028! Maybe this will have a happy ending, like the Fountainbleau in Las Vegas! Stay tuned!
I feel like a tower of this size would get a lot more tourists if there was more to look at than just sand.
Arabs have been around sabd so long, they wouldn't even understand that. Imagine being an average joe and flying to a country JUST to look at a building. I mean unless you're an architect, likely not gonna happen.
You 2 are hilarious, Saudi Arabia has a variety of nature all along his westcoast. Your ignorance might be larger than their desert
@@robroy8568 ok Rob
You get a good view of camel races and public beheadings.
Nah looking at the Burj khalifa felt like nothing lol inside it is very depressing too
I remember always tuning in every month or so to see how the tower’s construction was going. It’s sad to see that it is still delayed, and now may not even be completed.
Why? Most middle eastern skyscrapers are nothing more than ego builders for the monarchy's that control their nations. All that wasted money that could of been used to better the lives of their people they just burn away on empty buildings that do nothing but send money to european engineering and Chinese construction companies. Every failure is a victory for the average middle eastern citizen.
I prefer if they don't. SA & UAE projects aren't exactly built on great terms. Most of them just looks like too much money & barely any brains at the top.
Focusing on better local terraforming & public facilities (including the plumbing) looks to be a far, _far_ better use of their wealth. But they won't ever do those...not with their attitudes.
@@TheRibbonRed Best take ever on the issue mate :)
@@mar07in but unlike every other issue...
...this one take their workers' passports, force them into destitute living (where their original countries' living are better), and ban them from ever leaving until you don't have a physically fit working body anymore.
@@TheRibbonRed I used to live in That part of the world, those countries usually compete in building taller or bigger mega projects and skyscrapers,they could’ve done way more for us instead of wasting so much money on nothing
I remember when this channel was small enough that I could send a message to Jake and he would have a casual conversation with me. It's come a lonnngg way in terms of views, and the quality of his content has only gotten better with every video.
Thanks so much
I guess the channel growth hasn't gone to his head, he still had time to reply to you.
I’m forever fascinated by the audacity of these projects in that region of the world. First by the absurd amount of money to be spent but also why anyone would want to do business in the Kingdom. MBS is a vicious killer who routinely rounds up foreign business workers and jails them on trumped up charges of embezzlement and crimes against the crown etc etc. I’ve read a full 25% of his projects never see the light of day and work just stops and no one ever asks what happened and others jump in for their chance to make millions of not billions
This is the fundamental problem isn’t it - no sane international business would site their regional HQ there because no one wants to live there because of the laws and business is difficult because of corruption.
They need to get a reality check about how the rest of the world sees them and why - a westerner taking their family there would need to be slightly crazy.
If you wanted to do business from this locale you would probably choose the UAE for all these reasons
@@graemelow7516 completely agree. You’d be much safer doing business in the UAE. I can’t tell you how many reports on 60 Minutes and the like talk about some poor international business guy who was locked up and tortured for years because somebody saved themselves by giving up an innocent man. In light of the whole Khashoggi murder how can anyone in any position trust MBS? Look what the man has done to his daughters! We have not seen the one who escaped to India on a yacht and was promptly recaptured by a damn Saudi spec-ops team operating on foreign soil smh. I hope she’s still alive but I suspect not sadly. It’s a clusterfuck over there Graeme. Cheers
meanwhile, Americans complain about having to build handi-cap accessible bathrooms and entrances, and the patrons complain if the owner hangs a picture of a POTUS they didn't vote for.
Imagine dropping the average family from San Francisco into a place like Saudi Arabia?!?! hahahahahahahaha. suddenly the "sys white male" culture wouldn't seem quite as oppressive and intolerant now would it? hahahahaha
@@knickd1979 yes I agree that western countries are concerned about the dumbest things but your point about bringing people to SA to live would be funny at first then very sad as the morality police started locking up and torturing them left and right. The Kingdom sure did brag about their record 81 public executions in one afternoon last year! Nobody wants to work under such looming pressure. And our great dope of a president Biden giving MBS full immunity in the Khashoggi murder just made me absolutely sick to my stomach smh. How anyone could consider him trustworthy when he’s orchestrated the torture and murder of how many people including his own daughter! The man is a sociopath despot who uses the Quran and oil as shields to hide his depravity
@@chrisdooley1184 its not MBS daughter, but actually the one of the King of Dubai.
I live in Jeddah and I will tell u the real reason why it was shut.
Pretty simple yet bluntly saying
The CEO who was arrested his ego was hurt and he stopped the project.
Irony, NOTHING from the Middle East shows off THEIR engineering prowess. We hire Saudi’s because we have to, but between arriving late, leaving early, smoke breaks, prayer breaks and coffee breaks, their productivity is a tenth of all the expats (while they still expect a good salary)
So all the engineering is done by foreigners. Foreigners the locals treat with contempt.
These projects are 100% ego based. It is the equivalent of wrapping your sports car in gold (a notoriously heavy metal). Now where have I seen a gold wrapped sports car? Oh wait, Middle East as well.
PS. Abandoned half built projects is extremely common in Saudi. This is just a big one.
This is very sad. When i was younger this was one of the reasons i got into the engineering and welding inspection field. The opportunity to work on such a site...a world changing building was inspiring. Very sad to see it was pushed by the wayside. The burj khalifa was awesome to work on, hope i get the chance to go back to Dubai in the future and do another project.....the burj makes me shed a tear every time i look at it, because i know it inside and out. top to bottom of foundation. The Jeddah would have been something else....sad.
Recently graduated as a civil engineer, I became interested in the field after my family moved to Dubai. I never get sick of looking at these massive buildings and marvels of engineering. Ironically though I ended up enjoying water and wastewater engineering more than structural design haha.
@@HMKfilms360 No shame, gotta get the water in and out somehow!
Isn't the but khalifa is that one building which doesn't even have waste treatment properly installed ? That they have to haul all the shit and waste using trucks and makes congestion on the road.. build with the help of slaves with no proper wage, none standard of living whatsoever ~
@@elievalkyrie9736 it does now have a sewer connection
@@elievalkyrie9736 part of the reason that was a thing was because it wasn't supposed to be used until that was done, Dubai has a really wonky sewage network. Not just the burj, it's the whole downtown really. I think it has since been fixed though.
This sounds like the North Korean hotel story, just for a new generation.
-Vanity project
-Unnecessary (rather because there’s more than enough space or not enough people)
-Corruption hindering work
-Left incomplete and abandoned
-National embarrassment
- Waste of natural resources
- Destruction of local environment.
Are the people in the area starving to death?
@@tokyosmash They would be, if there were anything but the few rich people in the area…. In both cases.
@@RavenFilms Complete nonsense. Jeddah is a city of 5 million people - much larger than Dubai. It is modern and well-laid out. You clearly know nothing about Kingdom Holding Company or who owned it and what that person is doing today. Inform yourself before wasting time scribbling a list of garbage.
@@pacmanc8103 KHC is trash. Cry about it.
"Along the red sea sits a looming figure..." sounds very much like the opening line from fantasy, scifi and horror stories from 1920's to 1950's.
There are a lot of comments on here about foreign labour. Many employers in the middle east often treat migrant workers as slaves. Tjis is and always has been common. Many years ago Pakistani friends explained to me that Pakistani workers were not even considered to be "the right sort of muslim" so could be treated as inferior people. This includes women working in homes as well as men working in construction etc. Their passports are confiscated so they cannot easily leave. They are contracted on restrictive visas so cannot change employers. They are often badly housed as well as physically ill treated from beatings to rape. From poor diet to near starvation. There have been occasional cases in the UK where an "servant" brought in with the family manages to escape and find help.
That doesn’t impress the world. Stability and democracy do.
well it does to you guys how did it work out btw high crime rates high drug usage a president who after one fall will fade into dust we are good yall are good peace is better then forcing countrys to live like yours
Another insight video! Been watching for nearly a decade, and the excitement I get when I see a new Abandoned is constant
Thanks so much!
The site for JEC is in the middle of nowhere and so far away from anything else in Jeddah... I remember being in disbelief when I drove past a puzzling concrete structure sticking out of the dessert back in 2016. Somewhat validating to learn it still looks like that 😂
You mentioned the NY Freedom tower only being 1770 ft tall, but it's really architecturally 1,776 ft tall and 1,792 ft at the tip of the spire.
I say this because the architectural 1776ft portion is important for a reason.
I lived in Jeddah from 2013 till 2018. There was something off about the construction whenever I'd drive past it, it didnt feel active at all and you could tell this was not going anywhere
This is like the sky scraper version of the Devel Sixteenth super car 😅
I did never explore city of Jeddah, but I spent 9 hours in Jeddah airport. A very beautiful airport. I did fly trough via Etihad during Ramadan. Since I had long a layover the security of the airport did show me a nice clean shower and I could get unlimited food and rest on sofa. I just had economy class cheap ticket. I was surprised about the welcoming and comfort. I still don't understand why. I could see other passengers not allowed to go to showers and have free food, but for some reason I got all the hospitality. The airport was very huge and beautiful, but little people around. Maybe, cause of Ramadan.
All that hospitality was because you're foreigner. The government loves to spread its cheeks for anyone but it's own citizens
Jeddah airport was designed by a UK company and managed through to completion by the same company. thats why it worked - no involvement by the locals except under the direction of a sensible set of engineers.
I dont know if anthing will pass the burj. As a Chicagoan I was hopeful for the spire but that didn't work. But if anything does it'll be a spectical just like the burj. Great Video jake!
Another absolute banger, Jake! The team and yourself put such heart and soul into these videos!
I grew up in Jeddah in the 60s & 70s, my family had a very rustic beach cabin on the Red Sea inlet, shown near the tower. That used to be a 45 min drive from Jeddah & there was next to nothing out there. How sad to see it covered w/ development now.
Wow thats really intresting
Do you still live in jeddah?
This is one if my favorite channels! Would love to see an episode on the Seawatch Subdivision in Sechelt, British Columbia.
"Or the stupid mirror line thing" made me laugh out loud, glad you mentioned that ludicrous project.
I’ll be surprised if they even start building that thing, but if they do, I’m sure it’ll show up on this channel in a few years. A single thin long line is far and away the stupidest possible layout for a city.
@@Sashazur I saw pictures a few days ago that were said to be the start of construction on that project. Didn’t bother double checking though, I doubt it will be finished. It sounds like an idea that was conceived by a dictator without a lot of wise thought put into it. Kind of like the Jeddah Tower.
Beautiful idea, frankly. Would've been one heck of a sight to see from any angle.
Not gonna shed any tears for this loss, though. The House of Saud and their many bouts of egotistical building and _many_ other issues have really put a damper on any sort of blue-sky-ing to be had about any of those projects of theirs.
I was actually named after this city. I remember being so excited when I heard about the tower being built and my middle school self wanted to tell people a tower was built and named after me. I honestly had forgotten about this project. Sad to see it will most likely never be completed.
& like it... you too have probably stopped getting taller
@@JTA1961 what?
@@evrythingisayisfactzzlolll6642 Read it again… slowly
@@marcd7332 I did and it makes zero sense. The only thing I got from it is that Joel (the replier) 100% has a “illegal” collection in his computer. All’s im saying.
@EVRYTHING I SAY IS FACTZZ LOLLl
Are you using google translate? How the fuck did you get that out of a cheesy dad joke?
I hope that "The Line" Prince Bin Salman's new project will be dropped like this one.
Both are architectural and environmental monstrosities. We are simply not surprised that this is the iconic project of a mad prince, who has his detractors strangled and cut into pieces...
#74?! how have i never seen this channel?! love this type of content.
Man, you've grown so much as a creator through the years dude. Always makes my day when you upload.
Thanks!
Agreed.
One thing he has not developed is the ability to present. Text delivered at a uniform rate with zero inflection simply does not cut it, mostly because it is barely comprehensible.
@@hb1338 What are you not comprehending??
@@shanewall9092he might just be slow
As someone fortunate to have travelled to Dubai back in 2015 for the BK, obviously this was a huge interest to me architecturally. But, as we all saw, the "me to" desire of Jeddah and SA simply hasn't captured the eyes like Dubai's successful efforts had. Now, what if the corruption purges never happened? Hard to say. Maybe the tower would've been finished. But now with SA focusing on NEOM / The Line integrated city and as you said, the funding mostly removed from JEC, I do wonder if they'll just leave this to sit in the sands.
At least the crazy reinforced frame will last a very, very long time.
I'm an expat in Saudi and visit some of those private resorts on the Red Sea. We've always wondered what the deal was with this thing that has been sitting abandoned for years. It is a nice landmark you can always see when your out on a boat snorkeling/diving though!
Without (seemingly) any sewage treatment plants planned be glad that this is 'on hold' if you like snorkling there.
expat, fancy word for white immigrant
@@aayush_789 Who hurt you?
@@jima1135 yo mama
Should do one of these on the Sky City tower that was aimed to be built in China. A prefabricated tower that supposedly was to be taller than Burj Khalifa and only take 90 days to build.
Maybe it's better to finish the building at the current height (it's already beautiful and potentially useful in its current state, just redesign the infrastructure to fit the shorter size). And then use the remaining budget to develop the neighborhood.
Interesting content as always Jake. Always excited when a new Bright Sun Films video is released.
Just drive down the Las Vegas Strip. You will see plenty of abandoned towers, sitting there way longer than this one in Jeddah. Also, not sure why what is there now would have to be demolished. Just top it off at this level and finish what you have, forget going up to 1000 meters, as that was never needed in the first place.
I really love that you continue to make these videos Jake. I’ve been watching abandoned as well as your other series since you first started :)
thanks for mentioning the mirror line project is more megalomania delusions, that is quite true.
Still boggles my mind that anyone would want to live in the desert. Especially with the way the climate is going. Sure, you can build a fancy building with air conditioning and all that. But what about when you have to go out on a 40C+ scorching hot temperature? Madness.
I love the Abandoned series! I get so excited when I get a notification that Jake's posted a new video
I remember reading bout this and I am surprised it hasn't been completed, if it will ever be. It could have been similar to that idea of The Illinois, a 528 super building that was more of just a vision, ironically enough, Jeddah Tower took some inspiration from it.
I'm always looking forward to a new episode of Abandoned. Jake... You are so amazing. And your voice is like Asmr to me. Keep up the bloody epic work. I've been following you for along time now. You never scese to amaze me how hard you work to bring such awesome Abandoned episodes. Love from Kelowna BC Canada 🇨🇦 💕
Oui des ouvrages grandiosement voués à l 'ephemere et donne une impression de froideur visuelle
Dilapidacion de recursos.¿ Esos proyectos tienen rentabilidad social.O solamente para pagar a constructoras y disenos muy extranos.
It is amazing there are people who Like to live in such high-rise building. It looks dangerous.
Its fumny how an unfinished building is higher than any building in my country
I think you should do an episode on ShopKo. They've been out of business now for a number of years and I think it would be cool to know the full history of the company.
Haven't watched the video yet, but the topic certainly intrigued me right away as soon as I saw the title. I always remember whenever I'd look up about the tallest towers in the world and the Jeddah Tower was constantly talked about as something that would eventually surpass the Burj Khalifa in height once it's completed and take its place as the tallest tower. Part of me was sorta waiting to see it finished because of my sense of wonder as a child or something like that, but over time I sorta lost interest and I rarely heard it being talked about until today. Am curious to see what happened to it.
Live the abandoned series. I’ve been subscribed since ep 1. Thanks for making this!
Love?
I don't understand why these giant skyscrapers need glass windows. It seems like a huge "death ray" accident waiting to happen when the sun hits it in the right spot and reflect on some unfortunate soul on the ground.
What else can one expect of dictatorships.
“Absolute power corrupts… absolutely….” Doesn’t matter if its enterprise, free thinking, liberty… be it Jeddah Tower of Terror, or other ‘Neom-ithic’ thinking. In a democracy, failure is a partner of success. , in a dictatorship it is all a mirage.
This thing kinda reminds me of the cologne cathedral. A church which sat abandoned for 300 years, just with one small crane on it.
Whaatt
Love relaxing to a good Bright Sun Films video.
Also don't know if it's new but just noticed the new intro graphic and love it!
I was just wondering what happened to this tower last week. Thanks for this!
In 5 years: Abandoned - The Line
If anything the 20th century has taught us about urban planning is that it usually goes horribly wrong.
The best cities are not designed by men but grow organically out of actual geography, human behavior and economics.
80,000 residents will not provide the number of consumers needed to support the Jeddah Economic City as designed. Consumers can not be artificially generated. They can only arise naturally and if they dont, your well planned city of tomorrow is doomed.
Wow! I am surprised this tower is abandoned. However, when the islands tanked in the sea, it may just be, like the Jeddah Tower, something that just did not fulfill its expectations. With the hot weather you would think foreign offices would fill a building that has it all.
Another great episode!!! I don't foresee it being restarted anytime soon with the current economic state of things.
Looking forward to the next one!!
plus SA seems to be more interested in investing in video games(they are currently trying to buy a major games publisher) then buildings.
I always find it funny how computer graphics show these incredible structures and people fall for it hook, line and sinker every time.
When fantasy meets reality hindsight is a wonderful thing.
8:13 I love how the design also features the worlds largest crack pipe, a fitting testament to the megalomania of this entire venture.
It’s Friday AND another abandoned episode what could be better!
Another informative and interesting video. I really dig your content, Jake. Thanx for taking the time 🤙
Something about watching Jake’s videos has a calming feeling to me.
Finally, only took you 70 episodes but finally you did what I suggested, the cold opening and it's so much better.
The wide and flat road in front of this project the Jeddah Economic City / Kingdom (Jeddah) Tower was a very good place for a fast marathon course. This road is where I got to earn my personal best in half marathon.
It's kind of sad to think that this maginificent skyscraper will never be completed, but just think about how many people won't have to die in the construction process.
It will be completed and no one will die building it. The main problem was that the contractor (bin laden group) had an accident in another project that got them sued causing delays in most of their projects. Stop believing the media lies about workers dying. All large projects follow strict safety guidelines and workers are happy with their pay and work conditions because it’s much better than they can get in any other country.
@@mrziad92 Everything you stated is patently false, pull your head out of the sand. This is the biggest farce the Saudi's have ever pulled on themselves. Several other towers will be completed that are taller, long before this scam is demolished.
@@mrziad92 the people that build these towers first expect a adequate salary and then get traded to slavery in return
@@mrziad92 it's adorable that you don't think slave labour won't be used to finish the building and that people won't die
Multiple people died building the Burj Khalifa and hundreds have died during the preparations for the Qatar World Cup and yet you don't think slaves will die building a 1km tall monument to tiny cocks in a country known for its disregard for people's lives?
God I wish I could be that naive, my life would be so much better if I was so blissfully ignorant
@@mrziad92 also I can't help but assume you live in SA or another Middle Eastern country? I only say that because you've clearly swallowed the propaganda fed to you, which is kinda sad
Another good video by you jake. I've always wondered about what happened to the Jeddah Tower there's so much hype surrounding it online and everything and then it just kind of fizzled out. When it really comes down to it people just don't have the finances or scandals happening as well as other outside forces keeping it from being done there's always a reason. That's how I feel but you never know the tower could go up one day. Anyway keep up the good work with the videos I enjoy it.
Can’t wait for the inevitable Abandoned episode about the LINE city project.
A tower surrounded by undeveloped space and sand sounds like it was doomed from the start.
The leaders need take care of their people not stroke their egos.
He's done it again! Go Jake go!
Those super-tall buildings look very oppresive & dystopian. Like Sauron Tower or Combine's Citadel.
I worked in Jeddah from '80-'83. Back then that area north of "The Creek" was pretty much as you describe now, scattered (largely run-down) vacation homes and villas with plenty of space between them. We scuba dived every weekend on the coast right where the building is. Another angle that you might look into is that, ironically, the sand that Saudi Arabia largely consists of is totally unsuitable for producing high strength concrete. Couple that with the fact that virtually all water there is produced via oil fired desalination, and you end up with insanely expensive concrete compared with many other places.
Lived rayville during the same time frame
Remember the rotting "palace " by the sea
In my fictional world, this project never gets abandoned, already finished and successful
Thankfully we're getting back to that vision... It's restarted and Riyadh Tower which was announced last week will be even taller at 2KM!
As always, a great abandoned episode!!
Thanks for another great documentary! 🎉Keep Up The Great Work 🎬
10 years of abandoned! Looking forward to another decade :D
It's direct evidence of the level of intelligence and future planning skills these people have. Maybe these sand dwelling people have a little too much money and are a little too impressed by a CGI presentation.
@@nh251 uhhh… wrong comment maybe?
At least in such an arid environment, it won't deteriorate soon. One day maybe somebody will dust it off and finish it.
Honestly trying to build the next 'tallest' skyscaper is the most pointless exercise. What makes a city skyline standout isn't simply a matter of height, what is require is a unique silhouette. If someone takes a marker and draw a shape and people can immediately tell what it is. That's iconic. Sydney Opera House, Statue of Liberty, Burj Al Arab, Marina Sands Bay, Space Needle, Leaning Tower of Pisa even by accident. They are all recognizable by a shape.
I was wondering what was happening with this project. Thanks for the video jake!
"Show of a nation's engineering prowess" means nothing when what they're actually doing is "showing off how much engineering prowess they can hire from other nations by spending a ton of irreplaceable oil money."