Arguably the largest and most ambitious construction project globally to date, Neom is the brainchild of Saudi Arabia’s ruler. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmon has earmarked a vast swathe of the country for the revolutionary development. Although Neom is sometimes called a “smart city” it is more accurately described as a “smart region,” featuring numerous urban areas, tourist destinations, and other construction.  

Neom forms part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, a plan created with the aim of diversifying the nation’s economy to make it less dependent on fossil fuels. Covering an area of more than 10,200 square miles, an area that is roughly equivalent in size to the country of Albania, the site is in northwest Saudi Arabia, bordered by the Gulf of Aqaba on the west, and the Red Sea to the south. 

This far-reaching project is being funded by the Public Investment Fund on behalf of the Saudi government, with a reported $500 billion in investment being ploughed into the project. Here’s everything you need to know about it: 

About Neom 

“Neom,” a name that means new future, will incorporate smart towns, cities, and ports as well as a network of airports, including one of the world’s largest international airports. Neom will also be home to research centers, tourist destinations, industrial areas, and sports and entertainment venues, including the Gulf Cooperation Council’s first-ever ski resort. Neom will consist of 10 areas, referred to by the developer as “regions.” To date, details of just four of these regions have been made public, namely Sindalah, Trojena, Oxagon, and The Line. 

Sindalah is going to be designed as a resort island in the Red Sea. It will have marinas and hotels, and its target audience will be yachters. 

Intended to rival the Swiss Alps, Trojena’s unique mountain location will be home to the Gulf Cooperation Council’s first-ever skiing resort. Covering approximately 23 square miles, with elevations ranging from 5,000 to 8,500 feet, the year-round outdoor ski resort is supposed to be completed in 2026, its highlights including a man-made freshwater lake, as well as “The Vault,” a venue that will seamlessly blend entertainment, hospitality, and technology. After Saudi Arabia won the bidding process against a number of other nations, it was recently announced that Trojena will host the Asian Winter Games in 2029. 

Oxagon is designed as an octagonal-shaped port city positioned on the Red Sea in the far south of Neom. Oxagon will serve as a port and logistics hub, comprising the largest floating structure in the world. The Line will be a sort of 100-mile-long linear city that will incorporate two parallel, 1,600-foot-high skyscrapers positioned 650 feet apart and clad with mirrored facades. Amenities will be walkable, and high-speed mass transit will be available that brings any part of The Line to within a 20-minute journey. 

Sustainability Features 

Neom is also intended to work towards the promotion of sustainable living, driving growth and prosperity for Saudi Arabia. Neom’s energy will be 100 percent renewable, generated via wind, solar and hydrogen power generation technologies, ensuring a carbon-positive, zero-emission ecosystem. It will also preserve 95 percent of the natural environment and pioneer technologies in the arenas of global water production, efficiency, and storage, thanks to its next generation desalination technology. 

Tackling pollution, traffic, and infrastructure challenges that occur in conventional cities, Neom will be a futuristic development that prioritizes clean energy, technology, and walkability, creating a new way of life for the people who live there. At a Global AI Summit staged in Riyadh, Nadhmi Al Nasr, Chief Executive of Neom, said that the city would make full use of AI technology, confirming that the planning phase of the project had been successful, and that work had already commenced on the development, with steady progress so far. 

Economic Impact 

What really sets Neom apart is the developers’ intention to create a careful balance between advanced technology and futuristic plans, between Arabian heritage and hospitality. Located on the Red Sea in the northwest province of Tabuk, Neom enjoys a unique central geographic location. An estimated 10 percent of global trade already flows through the Red Sea, project leaders estimate that this innovative smart region is just a four-hour flight away from 40 percent of global destinations, making it not only easily accessible for tourists, but also providing investors and business owners with direct access to both international and Saudi markets. 

First unveiled by Crown Prince Mohammed in 2017, Neom will feature a business and tech center which is predicted to contribute around $48 billion to Saudi Arabia’s GDP, creating 380,000 jobs.