African cities’ skylines are rapidly changing within short time frames, making it even harder to choose yearly top contenders for the tallest buildings.

African cities are becoming more competitive by the day on a global scale in terms of both infrastructure and modern city planning. Kenya and Uganda, and Tanzania joined the list of the top 10 tallest buildings in Africa.

This time as Bizna Kenya, we bring you not only Africa’s tallest buildings but also those projects that gave Africa high hopes and have ever since stalled or lay incomplete for a long time. Here are the tallest buildings in Africa

1. The Iconic Tower

The Iconic Tower is the tallest building in Africa and is located in the New Administrative Capital of Egypt. The New Administrative Capital is a large-scale project for a new capital city in Egypt that has been under construction since 2015.

It was announced by the then Egyptian housing minister Mostafa Madbouly at the Egypt Economic Development Conference on March 13, 2015. It has a total structural height of 385.8 meters. When completed, it will include 80 floors, most being offices.

It is part of 20 towers being constructed in the new capital city as part of the Central business district. The total area of the tower is over 7,100,000 square meters. The structural concrete works for the tower were completed in July of 2021 and later topped out at their full height of 385 meters on August 24, 2021.

2. The Leonardo

The Leonardo is a 55-floor mixed-use property development in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, that stands at the height of 234 meters (768 ft), 11 meters (36 ft) taller than the previous tallest building in Africa, the Carlton Centre. The building is built at 75 Maude Street, approximately 100 meters from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

The development includes street-level shops and an above-ground podium, where a swimming pool, restaurant, and several other facilities are located. The facilities are open to public use and can be booked through Legacy Hotels and Resorts.

The design has changed significantly since it was announced. It was initially scheduled to be designed by an AMA architect firm and completed by 2010. On November 17, 2015, the Leonardo began construction.

By late April 2018, the Leonardo was the tallest building in Sandton, exceeding the Sandton City Office Tower, standing at 141 meters. By mid-April 2019, the Leonardo was topped out and is now officially the tallest African building.

It rises to 234 meters, being 11 meters taller than the Carlton Centre, the previous tallest building in South Africa. Construction work started in 2015 and was completed in 2019 at a cost f R2 billion, and it will have 200 apartments as well as 11 floors of commercial office space

3. Carlton Centre, South Africa

The Carlton Centre, located downtown in Johannesburg, South Africa, was once the tallest building in Africa since 1973 and held the title for 40 years with a height of 223 meters with 50 floors.

Construction began in 1960 by demolishing the old Carlton Hotel and closing roads to form a city superblock and was officially completed in 1974. However, occupation of the Centre began in 1971. The tower’s design matches that of New York’s One Seneca Tower in Buffalo, completed in 1973.

4. Britam Tower Kenya

Britam Tower was built as a commercial tower owned by a British-American Investments Company. The skyscraper has a maximum height of 195 meters, with 32 usable floors above ground.

It is the second-tallest building in Africa by pinnacle height at 200 m (660 ft). It features a unique prismic shape that starts as an equal four-sided square footprint and ends with a two-sided roof with a 60 meters (197 ft) mast, containing three helical wind turbines.

5. The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia Headquarters

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia Headquarters is a tower located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. With 198-meter, the 46-story CBE Tower is the tallest building in Ethiopia. The CBE Tower has a height of 198 meters with 52 stories.

Construction started in 2015, and it topped out in 2019. Completion has seen intermittent delays to date. The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) is the largest commercial bank in Ethiopia.

As of June 2015, it had about 303.6 billion Birr in assets and held approximately 67% of deposits and about 53% of all bank loans. The bank has around 22,908 employees, who staff its headquarters, and it has over 1000+ branches positioned in the main cities and regional towns.

The latter includes 120 branches in the national capital Addis Ababa. With the opening of a branch in the Gechi in the Illubabor Zone, CBE’s banking network has reached online 783 branches. The bank has reached 1284 branches as of August 10, 2018.

6. Nairobi Global Trade Centre Office Tower

Nairobi Global Trade Centre Office Tower is a 42-story tower rising 184 meters in Nairobi. Construction of the GTC Tower started in 2014 and was completed in 2021 and is the tallest of 3 towers located on the site.

7. Ponte City Apartment, South Africa

Ponte City is a skyscraper in the Berea neighbourhood, just next to Hillbrow, Johannesburg, South Africa. It was built in 1975 to 173 m (567.6 ft). The 55-story building is cylindrical, has an open centre dubbed “the core,” allowing additional light into the apartments, and rises above an uneven rock floor.

8. UAP Tower, Kenya

UAP Old Mutual Tower is a 33-story office complex in the Upper Hill neighbourhood of Nairobi, Kenya, owned by UAP Old Mutual Group, a financial services conglomerate headquartered in Kenya, with subsidiaries in six African countries. The UAP Tower, the second-tallest building in Nairobi at 163 m (535 ft), was completed in 2016.

9. NECOM House, Nigeria

Nigerian External Communication House (NECOM House) is a skyscraper located in Lagos, Nigeria.

NECOM House is a 32-story building with a height of 160 meters. The building was completed in 1979.

10. Tanzania Ports Authority Tower

TPA Tower is the tallest building in Tanzania and is a 157-meter-tall tower located in Dar es Salaam. Construction of the 40-story building was completed in 2016.

Upcoming Tallest buildings in Africa.

These are proposed and under development buildings yet to rise to their full height.

Father and Son skyscraper

This is a 470 m skyscraper proposed in Cairo, Egypt. IAMZ Studio designs are split into three main components, including the style, shape, urban design, and green spaces implemented into the design.

Sand Tower

The sand tower is also a 450 m tower proposed in Merzouga, Morocco. The highrise is designed by French practices OXO Architectes and Nicolas Laisne Associes. Dubbed as the ‘skyscraper of the future,’ is set to be a vertical city dealing with the desert’s dangers and drought, towering above the wilderness.

Durban Iconic Tower

Durban Iconic Tower is a multi-billion Rand proposed skyscraper in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. With 370 meters, it would be one of the tallest buildings in Africa and the Southern Hemisphere if built. It would also replace Leonardo to become the tallest tower in South Africa.

The Pinnacle

The Pinnacle, also Pinnacle Towers, is a tower on hold in Nairobi, Kenya. Upon completion of the current timeline, it will become the second tallest tower in Africa after Egypt’s Iconic Tower. Southern Hemisphere is the third tallest, at 70 stories and over 300 m.

Source: Tallest buildings in Africa by Nasonga.com