Erbil Begins 450-Meter Skyscraper
Kurdistan 24 has learned that foundation work is underway on a tower more than 450 meters tall, which would be more than twice the height of E1 Tower, the city’s tallest building at 180 meters
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Construction has begun in Erbil on a skyscraper that will rise more than 450 meters, according to information obtained by Kurdistan 24, a project that would reshape the skyline of the Kurdistan Region’s capital and tower over every building the city has ever built.
The project is in the foundation stage, and work on the floors is due to start soon. Its architectural concept draws on American ideas; the design carries the modern lines associated with Dubai, and it is being built with local labor and engineering expertise, according to the information. The tower will be visible from every corner of Erbil and is expected to become a new symbol of the city. No developer, budget, name, or completion date has been announced.
At more than 450 meters, the tower would dwarf Erbil’s current tallest building. E1 Tower, which stands at 180 meters with 48 floors, was begun in 2019 and completed in 2023, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The concrete tower, built in a postmodern style, has eight elevators and parking for more than 400 vehicles and cost about $35 million, according to Wikipedia. Other tall buildings in the city are well below it, including Empire Business Tower at 130 meters and Cavalli Tower at 149 meters.
The comparison with Dubai’s Burj Khalifa has circulated before, but the numbers differ. The Burj Khalifa stands at more than 800 meters, so a 450-meter tower would reach about half its height. The Kurdistan Region’s Board of Investment announced on 5/24/2025 plans for a development in Erbil that would include a landmark high-rise tower. Board chairman Dr. Mohammed Shukri then dismissed reports linking it to the Burj Khalifa, saying the tower would be a distinct and independent project and a future point of focus for the city. Whether that is the same project now under way was not immediately clear.
If completed at the announced height, the tower would also surpass the tallest building now planned in Iraq, the 380-meter First Iraq Tower in Baghdad, which is estimated for 2028, according to Wikipedia’s list of the country’s tallest buildings.
When the new tower is finished, E1 Tower will give up the title of the tallest building in Erbil.