Nearly 20% of infrastructure works at NEOM City, Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion futuristic cities, are complete, according to the agency’s report. Saudi Arabia’s mega engineering project will be powered by clean energy without cars, and the streets will have no cars or zero carbon emissions.
NEOM is a combination of the Greek word NEO (new) and M, both the first letters of the Arab word Mustakbal (the future) and of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. First unveiled by Prince Mohammed in 2017, Neom is Saudi Arabia’s flagship business and tourism development on the Red Sea coast. It is a central project in the 2030 Vision, outlining the kingdom’s plans to diversify the economy.
What is Neom City?
The $500 billion development will include smart towns and cities, ports and enterprise areas, research centers, sports and entertainment venues, and tourist centers. The development will be spread across 26,500 square kilometers and will comprise several zones, including industrial and logistics areas. It is planned for completion in 2025. The plans include a network of airports, including an international one.
The first, called Neom Bay Airport in the northern region of Sharma, opened last year and operates regular flights for Neom investors and employees. The chief urban development officer at Neom, Antoni Vives, said one of the largest international airports in the world would be ready before 2030. A business and tech center is expected to contribute $48 billion to the kingdom’s gross domestic product and create 380,000 jobs. Construction of this is set to begin in the first quarter of this year.
What is so special about it?
NEOM is a planned 16-borough city on the Red Sea coast in the northwestern Saudi province of Tabuk. Saudi Arabia has named it after the words “New Future” in an attempt to create something that has never been done before. A huge amount—more than 500 billion dollars—is being invested in this dream project of the Saudi Prince. It has been planned such that all major cities across the world would be an 8-hour flight from NEOM. The city is being built using artificial intelligence and clean energy sources. The city would consist of bullet trains and a hyperloop, but the residents would be encouraged to use bicycles. NEOM’s climate provides unrivaled complementary solar and wind potential through competitively priced renewable energy.
The government of Saudi Arabia would build new industries and drive the next wave of the energy transition by producing green hydrogen. Leveraging low-cost clean energy and a carbon-free energy ecosystem from scratch, NEOM plans on developing energy-intensive industries with the potential to lead on a global scale. NEOM would build Digital Air, which provides free WiFi for all its residents. In January 2019, Saudi Arabia set up a company, also called Neom, to be the driving force behind the building effort. It hired three of the world’s largest consulting firms in 2017. These were McKinsey & Co., Boston Consulting, and Oliver Wyman.
What is the line in Neom City?
The Line, NEOM’s game-changing urbanization project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is set to provide a revolution in urban living and a blueprint for how people and the planet can co-exist in harmony. The sheer scale and ambition of the linear city mean that its delivery is one of the most complex challenges of any infrastructure project in the world. Ultimately intended to be a home for nine million people, The Line forms part of the extensive development work already underway at NEOM.
Built to prioritize the health and well-being of its citizens—with no roads, cars, or emissions—THE LINE’s 170 km (105 mi)-long linear urban development is a direct response to some of the most pressing challenges facing humanity today, such as legacy infrastructure, pollution, traffic, and human congestion. The Line is the first time in 150 years that a major urban development has been designed around people, not roads.
Walkability will define life on The Line; all essential daily services, such as schools, medical clinics, leisure facilities, and green spaces, will be within a five-minute walk. Ultra-high-speed transit and autonomous mobility solutions will make travel easier and give residents the opportunity to reclaim time to spend on health and wellbeing. It is expected that no journey will be longer than 20 minutes. The concept of a linear city isn’t a new one. It was first thought of in 1882, and plans were floated for a similar concept from Boston to Washington in 1965.
When will Neom City be completed?
The NEOM Construction Villages Project is the result of a partnership signed in September 2019. The agreement was signed between SATCO and Al-Tamimi to construct, finance, and facilitate operations. As per the agreement, Al-Tamimi Group will develop two residential areas within the village. These areas will have the capacity to house 10,000 residents each. Alongside SATCO, the two developers will operate the village for a total of 10 years.
The total area of Neom is 26,500 km2 (10,200 sq mi).
The city’s plans include multiple regions, including a floating industrial complex, a global trade hub, tourist resorts, and a linear city—all powered exclusively by renewable energy sources. Developers intend for the majority of the city to be complete by 2030. Experts have expressed skepticism about the ambitions of the megaproject. Saudi Arabia originally aimed to complete major parts of the project by 2020, with an expansion completed in 2025, but then fell behind schedule. By July 2022, only two buildings had been constructed, and most of the project area remained a bare desert.
Conclusion:
SATCO and Al-Tamimi have partnered to construct, finance, and expand Neom City, a $500 billion futuristic city in Saudi Arabia, through a partnership between the two countries. The project will include smart towns and cities, ports and enterprise areas, research centers, sports and entertainment venues, and tourist centers. It will contribute $48 billion to the kingdom’s gross domestic product and create 380,000 jobs. The city is set to begin in the first quarter of this year and will provide an 8-hour flight from NEOM to other major cities across the world.
The NEOM Construction Villages Project is a result of the partnership and will include two residential areas, one to house 10,000 residents each and the other to operate the village for a total of 10 years. The total area of Neom is 26,500 km2 (10,200 sq mi). The plans include multiple regions, including a floating industrial complex, a global trade hub, tourist resorts, and a linear city, all powered exclusively by renewable energy sources. Developers intend for the majority of the city to be complete by 2030.
