Construction Progress at The Mukaab — Excavation Status, Timeline, and Development Updates

Construction Progress: Where The Mukaab Stands in March 2026

The Mukaab’s construction timeline has been marked by significant milestones, an unprecedented excavation campaign, and a notable setback that reshaped the project’s trajectory in early 2026. Understanding the full construction history provides essential context for prospective residential buyers and investors evaluating delivery probability, timeline risk, and the distinction between Mukaab-interior units and surrounding district properties.

The Excavation Campaign: Scale and Achievement

The excavation phase of The Mukaab represents one of the largest single-site earthmoving operations in construction history. Commencing in 2023 following the February announcement by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the excavation campaign had reached 86 percent completion by January 2025, with over 10 million cubic meters of earth moved from beneath The Mukaab site alone. To contextualize this volume: 10 million cubic meters of earth would fill approximately 4,000 Olympic swimming pools. The excavation created the below-grade infrastructure envelope necessary for the foundation system, underground service corridors, parking structures, and utility networks that would support a building of 400 meters in every dimension.

Across the broader New Murabba development site — the 19-square-kilometer district surrounding The Mukaab — nearly 40 million cubic meters of material were excavated. In a significant sustainability achievement, this material was repurposed within the site rather than transported to landfill. The repurposing strategy serves the development’s sustainability targets by minimizing construction waste while providing fill material for grading, landscape formation, and infrastructure foundations across the district’s five neighborhoods.

The foundation engineering validated during the excavation phase involves deep piling systems driven into the Riyadh geology to support the four massive corner anchors that define The Mukaab’s structural engineering strategy. Each corner anchor, comparable in scale to two or three Empire State Buildings, requires foundation capacity far exceeding that of any conventional building. The successful execution of excavation to 86 percent completion demonstrated that the subsurface conditions at the al-Qirawan site in northwest Riyadh can support the unprecedented loads the structure would impose.

Completed Milestones: A Chronological Record

The construction history of The Mukaab and New Murabba includes the following verified milestones:

February 2023: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announces New Murabba and The Mukaab at a dedicated launch event. The announcement reveals the 400-meter cube concept, the 19-square-kilometer district plan, the 90,000-plus residential unit target, and the appointment of New Murabba Development Company (a PIF subsidiary) as developer. The announcement generates global media coverage and positions The Mukaab as potentially the world’s largest building by both volume and floor area.

2023: Excavation commences at the al-Qirawan site in northwest Riyadh. Heavy earthmoving equipment begins the process of preparing the below-grade infrastructure for the cube’s foundation system. Site preparation extends across the broader New Murabba footprint simultaneously, with grading and utility routing for the surrounding district neighborhoods.

2024: Excavation continues at industrial scale. Design development progresses under the leadership of Kohn Pedersen Fox for the first residential community and AECOM and Jacobs for the Mukaab District. New Murabba Development Company participates in its second consecutive MIPIM event in Cannes, France, promoting the development to international investors and potential branded residence partners.

January 2025: Excavation beneath The Mukaab reaches 86 percent completion. The milestone is reported with confirmation that over 10 million cubic meters of earth have been moved. This represents the last major positive construction milestone before the project’s trajectory changed.

January 2026 Suspension: What Happened and What It Means

In January 2026, Saudi Arabia suspended construction of The Mukaab beyond soil excavation and pilings. Reuters reported that the Public Investment Fund is reassessing the project’s financing and feasibility. The Mukaab became the first major megaproject in Riyadh to be formally reassessed as PIF ordered spending cuts of at least 20 percent across its portfolio of more than 100 companies.

The suspension must be understood within several critical contexts. First, the suspension applies specifically to The Mukaab structure — the 400-meter cube itself — rather than to the broader New Murabba district. Development of surrounding real estate, including the residential communities designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and the district’s infrastructure, road networks, and utility systems, is set to continue as planned.

Second, the suspension follows PIF’s portfolio-wide budget discipline implemented in 2025. This is not a project-specific failure but a sovereign wealth fund managing capital allocation across dozens of giga-projects — NEOM, Diriyah Gate, The Red Sea, Qiddiya, King Salman Park, ROSHN — during a period of reassessed ambitions. The Mukaab, at an estimated $50 billion cost for the cube alone, represents one of the most capital-intensive single assets in PIF’s portfolio. A financing reassessment for an asset of this magnitude is a sign of fiscal discipline, not necessarily project abandonment.

Third, the excavation investment represents sunk cost that creates momentum toward eventual construction. Over 10 million cubic meters of earth have been moved, foundations have been engineered and partially installed, and the below-grade infrastructure envelope exists. Walking away from this investment entirely would be economically irrational; the more probable outcome is scope adjustment, phasing modification, or timeline extension — all of which PIF is reportedly evaluating.

Revised Timeline: From 2030 to 2040

The development timeline has been extended from the original 2030 completion target to 2040 for full build-out. The revised phased timeline is as follows:

Phase 1 — By end of decade (2030): Coinciding with Expo Riyadh 2030, Phase 1 encompasses the first residential community, initial district infrastructure, and potentially initial elements of The Mukaab. The Expo deadline creates a hard political and economic imperative for Phase 1 delivery, as Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the world’s largest international exhibition requires functional destination districts to showcase to tens of millions of visitors. See our Expo 2030 impact analysis for detailed assessment.

Phase 2A — 2034: The second delivery phase, targeting additional residential neighborhoods, commercial space, and expanded amenity infrastructure. By this phase, the district’s critical mass should be established, with functioning residential communities, operational retail and dining, and active community facilities.

Phase 2B — 2035: Continuation of Phase 2 development, adding density and completing secondary district zones. The 2034-2035 phasing allows for market absorption of earlier phases before adding additional residential supply.

Phase 3 — 2040: Full build-out of the district and, depending on reassessment outcomes, completion of The Mukaab structure itself. This final phase represents the longest-horizon delivery commitment and carries the greatest timeline uncertainty.

MIPIM 2026: Continued Global Engagement

Despite the construction suspension, New Murabba Development Company participated in MIPIM 2026 in Cannes, France, for the third consecutive year. This continued presence at the world’s leading real estate investment conference signals several things: the broader district development continues, the company is actively pursuing international partnerships and branded residence collaborations, and the developer maintains confidence in the long-term vision even as the cube’s timeline is reassessed. MIPIM participation provides a platform for engagement with global investors, architecture firms, hospitality brands, and luxury developers — all of whom are potential partners for the branded residence program targeting 2,000 homes across automotive, fashion, jewellery, and wellness categories.

Surrounding District Development: What Continues

While The Mukaab cube is suspended, the surrounding New Murabba district development continues across multiple workstreams. The first residential community, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, is progressing through design development toward construction. District infrastructure — roads, utilities, telecommunications, water management systems — continues as this infrastructure serves the broader 19-square-kilometer development regardless of The Mukaab’s status. The five neighborhood zones — al-Qirawan (Mukaab District), Residential North, Commercial Core, Retail and Entertainment, and Green District — each have development trajectories that are partially independent of the cube’s construction timeline.

The 11-kilometer vehicle-free pedestrian and cycling route, the green spaces comprising 25 percent of the district area (three times the green space of Central Park), the community facilities including healthcare clinics, schools, and mosques, and the transport connections to the Riyadh Metro network all proceed on district-level timelines. For residents purchasing in the surrounding district, these amenities and infrastructure elements represent the near-term value proposition, with The Mukaab as a longer-horizon enhancement rather than an immediate requirement.

Implications for Residential Buyers

The construction status creates a dual dynamic for prospective residential buyers. Units within The Mukaab structure itself face delivery uncertainty related to the suspension and reassessment. The timeline for these units depends entirely on the outcome of PIF’s financing review, and prudent buyers should factor significant delivery delay risk into their decision-making. Units within the surrounding district — particularly district villas in the first residential community designed by KPF — face substantially lower delivery risk as district development continues independently of the cube.

The pricing implications are similarly bifurcated. Mukaab-interior units, when they become available for purchase, may reflect the delivery uncertainty through either discounted initial pricing (creating opportunity for risk-tolerant investors) or deferred release timing. District units offer more conventional delivery risk profiles comparable to other major Riyadh developments, with the long-term upside of Mukaab proximity if the cube is eventually completed.

Excavation Engineering: Technical Details

The excavation itself represented a major engineering achievement that warrants detailed examination. The 10 million cubic meters of earth removed from beneath The Mukaab site required careful sequencing to maintain the stability of surrounding ground, protect adjacent infrastructure, and create the precisely graded below-grade envelope required for the foundation system. Excavation in Riyadh’s geological conditions — sedimentary limestone and sandstone overlying the Arabian Shield — demands specialized equipment and techniques different from those used in alluvial soils or marine clays.

The excavation sequence likely followed a benched approach — removing material in stepped layers to maintain slope stability while progressively deepening the excavation. Dewatering systems managed groundwater encountered during excavation, preventing seepage from destabilizing excavation faces. Retention systems along the excavation perimeter — sheet piles, secant piles, or diaphragm walls — prevented collapse of the surrounding ground, protecting roads, utilities, and adjacent development land.

The 40 million cubic meters of total site excavation across the broader New Murabba district represents an even larger earthmoving campaign. This material, repurposed within the site for grading and landscape formation, required a material management strategy that coordinated excavation locations with fill destinations — ensuring that trucks moved material efficiently between cut and fill zones without unnecessary double-handling or off-site transport.

Monitoring Construction Progress: Sources for Buyers

Prospective buyers seeking to monitor construction progress can track several information channels. Satellite imagery services (including Google Earth, Planet Labs, and Maxar) provide periodic overhead views of the site that show excavation extent, equipment presence, and visible construction activity. New Murabba Development Company’s website (newmurabba.com) publishes official updates, though these tend toward marketing messaging rather than detailed construction reporting. Industry publications including Construction Week Middle East, MEED, and Arabian Business provide periodic construction progress coverage. Social media accounts of construction workers, contractors, and Riyadh residents sometimes provide ground-level photographs of the site, though these should be interpreted with appropriate caution regarding verification.

Our own construction progress coverage synthesizes these sources into verified assessments published as part of our quarterly review cycle, with breaking developments covered within 24 hours of confirmed information.

The Significance of the Excavation Investment

The over 10 million cubic meters of excavation completed beneath The Mukaab represents a capital investment of hundreds of millions of dollars that creates enduring option value. Unlike above-ground construction that can be demolished and repurposed, below-grade excavation permanently modifies the site, creating an infrastructure envelope specifically engineered for The Mukaab’s foundation system. This sunk investment makes complete project abandonment economically irrational — the excavation has no alternative use that would recover its cost, making eventual construction of some form of above-ground structure the most economically rational outcome.

For investment risk analysis incorporating construction status, see our risk section. For PIF strategy context affecting construction decisions, see our Intelligence vertical. For market absorption analysis considering the phased delivery timeline, see our demand modeling.