Cranes dot Adelaide's skyline, as new high-rises pop up across the city, but experts are warning many more people will be needed to make the plans a reality.

From apartments, to hotels and office spaces, a wave of buildings are either underway or proposed.

This includes multiple projects with sights set on being some of the tallest in the city. 

Figures released by Master Builders this month, estimated more than 31,000 more workers would be needed to meet demand in the construction industry across South Australia by late 2026, with over 14,000 of those tradies.

Master Builders SA chief executive Will Frogley said the industry had to work to attract and retain as many people as possible.

"All those kinds of jobs we know we need more of — construction managers, architectural building surveying technicians, trades, whatever they are — will be needed on those CBD jobs in large numbers."

What's on the way?

From 1988 to 2019, Adelaide's tallest building was 91 King William Street — starting out as the State Bank, then BankSA, Santos, Westpac and now the RAA Tower.

The 2019 newcomer, Frome Central Tower One, might have only pipped it by a few metres, but it has heralded a wave of new developments.

That includes some looking to reach new heights.

The SA1 Tower was given planning approval in September 2022, with the 55-level building proposed to rise 180 metres on the corner of Pulteney and Flinders Streets.

Meanwhile, plans are expected to be filed in the next few months for the 183-metre mixed-use Keystone tower, which would sit behind the heritage-listed Freemasons Hall on North Terrace.

Who is going to build the new projects?

Experts are warning the pressure is on to get enough people to make the multitude of projects happen, amid high demand across the state.

Mr Frogley said as well as the CBD, workers would be needed for projects like the North-South Corridor, and in defence and housing in the outer suburbs.

"There's a record number of people employed in construction in South Australia at the moment, about 82,000 people," Mr Frogley said.

"But all we hear every day is how hard it is to get people, that demand isn't going to dissipate.

"We've got migration ramping up, population growth, who's going to build all the homes that these people are going to live in and the infrastructure they'll need?"

University of Adelaide property lecturer Peter Koulizos said delays were likely, "through no fault of anyone in particular".

"It's just the way the world is now, you try and buy a new car, you can't just get a new car off the car yard, you have to put in an order, it's months away," Mr Koulizos said.

"The whole world is looking for trades, because the whole world is looking to rebuild."

Director of the Australian Centre for Housing Research and University of Adelaide Professor Emma Baker described the situation as a "massive catch-up", particularly when it came to housing — an issue echoed around the country.

"We've just dropped the ball for quite a few years, I think, in terms of training up the construction industry," she said.

"It's a really slow problem to turn around, it's not like you can just say 'tomorrow there'll be 5,000 new construction workers'."

The State Government and Master Builders SA launched the Born to Build program last year, visiting places like schools and sporting clubs to encourage people into the industry.

More than $200 million has also been committed to build and operate five technical colleges across the state, expected to be operational by 2026.

Will the developments get off the ground?

Mr Frogley said aside from finding workers, the cost of construction was also a challenge, and raised concerns about over-regulation in the industry.

"You've got to make sure the cost of construction doesn't blow out so much that the jobs don't go ahead."

Mr Koulizos said he expected the projects would proceed despite hurdles because of high demand.

"These developers have lots of dollars, but also lots of common sense," he said.

"They would have done their market research to help them determine for example, there's enough demand for premium office space."

But Professor Baker said she did not see all the proposed buildings going ahead.

"A lot of them will... but it won't be 100 per cent," she said.

"Things can change in the process of building halfway through that make it either different to what they intended to build, or they might not build it altogether."

This week, the State Government revealed the cost of the proposed Tarrkarri Aboriginal cultural centre on North Terrace could be as much as $600 million, triple the amount originally budgeted.

"What the government is turning its mind to is, can we fit that within the budget, or who can we partner with to achieve that objective," Premier Peter Malinauskas told ABC Radio Adelaide.

'Adelaide is literally growing up'

The population of the Adelaide local government area — that includes the CBD and North Adelaide — was more than 25,000 in the 2021 Census.

That's expected to swell to more than 46,000 by 2041.

The city's demographic makeup is also very different to elsewhere in South Australia, something experts said could be seen reflected in the amount of new high-rise student housing.

"60 per cent of the population living in the city are renting," Professor Baker said.

"We've also got double, sometimes triple, the number of young people."

Even with delays, Mr Koulizos said he expected demand to stay high for commercial and residential ventures.

"When I was a young lad, the joke was that you could shoot a gun down Rundle Mall and you wouldn't hit anyone because nobody was there after 5pm," Mr Koulizos said.

"But now, we have so many people living there.

"Adelaide is literally growing up."