How Much Does it Cost To Build a Skyscraper?

Skyscrapers, the first name that came into use during the 1880s, are larger buildings that are built with a specific purpose in mind.

They usually have a building of 10 to 20 stories.

These buildings are built with special purposes like reducing the housing cost, leveling inequality, and allowing many people to live in the city’s center.

In this modern time, Skyscrapers are getting taller than past. For example, in 2000, the average height was about 285 meters, but after ten years, they were about 385 meters, which means the annual growth rate was about 1.8%.

And many developed countries around the World have utilized the latest technology to build larger buildings. In the construction of skyscrapers, Iron and Steel materials are used to get taller buildings.

The construction of skyscrapers can be very expensive because, in the construction, Iron and Steel materials are used to get taller buildings, making the cost much higher.

A small 20 story building can cost about $1 million. And the cost will go higher as we go to b build larger buildings. According to an estimation, the larger building with unique architecture can cost about $100 million per floor.

The construction of skyscrapers is a very time-consuming process that takes years to complete. However, a Chinese construction company is claiming to be the World’s fastest company to build a skyscraper.

The building consisted of 57 stories and was completed within 19 working days.

Cost to Build Skyscrapers

The population of the World has increased over a few years, and urban areas are becoming concentrated with more and more people.

To meet the increased demand for housing, the World has started constructing skyscrapers, which can fulfill the housing need of many people.

However, building skyscrapers is not that easy and needs a huge amount of money and time. Roughly, today a tower can take five years to complete.  

However, an estimated cost to build a skyscraper is between half-billion dollars to $1.5 billion.  

But the cost of construction is a variable that depends on the location of a skyscraper, also the height building, which simply means a larger building with more stories will cost high, material used for the construction and most important the labor cost.

Building a skyscraper can be very difficult because of many factors, including its construction cost and complexity.

Many requirements are needed to construct a skyscraper; for example, the building must be built to support its weight, resist wind and earthquakes, and protect occupants from fire.

Not all contractors can work to make a skyscraper a safe building that provides all these requirements, and only a professional team of contractors can make it possible.

All these factors add a lot of money to the actual cost.

In the construction work, high-quality material, including steel and iron is used. And even they used steel skeleton structures for their construction.

However, due to the larger buildings, there is also a need to install elevators to move from one floor to another, which is also a considerable cost.

The expenses for installing elevators depend on the number of floors the building has in it.

7 World’s Expensive Skyscrapers

The buildings that consist of 10 to 20 floors as labeled as Skyscrapers. These tall buildings usually host offices, hotels, retail spaces, and residential spaces.

In the modern World, building skyscrapers is becoming more popular. And many countries of the World have spent a lot of money constructing the largest with complex design skyscrapers.

Here we have a list of the World’s expensive skyscrapers.

Out of seven, the US has three World’s expensive skyscrapers, and the other two are present in China and Korea.

However, Abraj Al-Bait, Saudi Arabia, has the World’s most expensive skyscraper.

It is a very complex building that costs more than $15bn.

Let have a look at each of them;

1) One world trade center Cost To build

One world trade center cost to build

One world trade center is also famous as freedom tower and comprises office and commercial spaces.

This 541m high, consisting of 104 stories of building construction, is about $3.8 Billion.

It was the very expensive skyscraper ever built in the US, and it took many years to build. Inside the One World trade center building, five high-rise office buildings are available.

2) China Zun

China Zun or CITIC tower is a super tall skyscraper in the central business district of Beijing.

This building is 528m and consists of 109 stories, and was built in 2018.

It is considered the largest building in Beijing and is also present in the list of expensive skyscrapers in the World.

It was built by spending about $3.35bn.

This building provides houses to multiple offices, including the headquarters of CITIC groups.

In the construction of China Zun, advanced technologies, including digital modeling and building information modeling, were used for the development of the super-tall building.

3) One Vanderbilt

One Vanderbilt cost to build

One Vanderbilt is the US’s fourth-tallest skyscraper after One World Trade Center, which is located in the West of Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan. One Vanderbilt is 417m tall and contains 98 stories, and it costs $3.31 billion.

One Vanderbilt was constructed in 2020 and served as headquarters for multiple firms in the banking, law, finance, and real estate industries.

4) Lotte World Tower Cost To build

Lotte world tower is located in Seoul, South Korea.

This building is the tallest in South Korea and currently the fifth tallest in the World, with a height of 555m and consisting of 123 stories.

Lotte World Tower’s construction was completed in December 2016 and was opened for the public on April 3, 2017.

This building is used for many things as it has office space, residential units, seven-star luxury hotels, retail space, cultural facilities, and also for public use and entertainment facilities.

This beautiful skyscraper was constructed by the Lotte group and took about $2.5bn for its construction.

5) Central Park Tower

Central park tower, also famous as Nordstrom tower, is located on 57th street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.

This building was completed in 2021, and is 472.44m high, and consists of 131 stories.

This skyscraper is constructed in a beautiful way and offers endless views in all directions.

Inside the tower, there is Central Park Club and a private club with about 50,000ft² of luxury accommodation spanning three floors.

It is one of the most complex designed and expensive skyscrapers of the World that costs $3 billion to construct.

6) Shanghai Tower Cost To build

Shanghai skyscrapers are located in the heart of the Lujiazui Finance and trade zone in Shanghai, China.

This beautiful building was completed in 2015, rising 632m high, and has 121 stories.

This skyscraper was designed by Gensler and developed by Shanghai Tower construction and development and cost $2.54bn.

This spiral-shaped tower includes office space, retail and entertainment facilities, a conference center, a luxury hotel, and cultural areas.  

7) Abraj Al-Bait Tower

Abraj Al-Bait Tower, which is located in Saudi Arabia is the World’s most expensive skyscraper.

This tower is 232m high and total construction cost of $15 billion.

Abraj Al-Bait Tower was built in 2004 that used concrete, steel, glass, marble, natural stone, and other expensive material for the construction.

Advantages of building skyscrapers

Building skyscrapers, no doubt, is a huge investment, but it can also be advantageous in many ways. One of the appealing advantages could be its attractiveness, it gives a stunning view and attracts tourists towards it.

Some of its other appealing advantages are mentioned below;

  • Skyscrapers provide affordable living to multiple people. Many people can live near downtown and can easily access shopping and other services, which helps them to reduce travel-related expenses like fuel and repair costs.
  • Skyscrapers allow you to have different stunning views. It is a great way of tourists’ attraction. Skyscrapers also give great natural ventilation and fresh air away from street pollution, along with spectacular views.
  • Skyscrapers are innovative buildings in the environmental department. The taller buildings provide airy floors with more sunlight.