Construction on the $1.2bn Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is set to begin in January 2012, according to the building’s architect Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture.

The 1km skyscraper will be located at the first phase of Kingdom City, a 5.3 million square-metre, mixed-use development north of Jeddah.

The building will feature a hotel, apartments, offices, three lobbies on the upper floors and an observation deck on the 157th floor.

Saudi Binladin Group won the contract to build the tower in August.