Saudi Arabia is planning the world's largest buildings

Saudi Arabia is planning to build the world’s largest buildings in its megacity project NEOM, sources told Bloomberg.

The skyscrapers would stretch from the Red Sea coast inland towards the desert and would house a mix of residential, retail, and office space.

They would be larger than the world’s current biggest buildings, which are mostly factories or malls. The world’s current tallest man-made structure is the 828-metre-tall (2,717 ft) Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

Designers have been asked to work on a half mile-long prototype, current and former NEOM employees told Bloomberg, asking not to be identified as the information is private.

NEOM was announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2017 as part of the Kingdom’s drive to diversify its oil-reliant economy.

The Crown Prince intends NEOM to be a futuristic, sustainable community joined together by The Line – a 170 kilometer stretched of car-free communities linked by public transport.

The Kingdom is currently home to the world’s fourth-tallest building: The Abraj al-Bait clock tower hotel in Mecca, which is 601 meters tall.