Saudi Arabia announces $500 billion mega city project

[Arabi]

LONDON: Saudi Arabia on Tuesday announced plans to build a $500 billion mega city on the Kingdom’s Red Sea coast, as part of a huge national push to diversify its economy.
The 26,500 square kilometers zone, known as Neom, will focus on industries including energy and water, biotechnology, food, advanced manufacturing and entertainment, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said yesterday.
“The focus on these sectors will stimulate economic growth and diversification by nurturing international innovation and manufacturing, to drive local industry, job creation, and GDP growth in the Kingdom,” said Prince Mohammed, who is also the Chairman of the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
“Neom will attract private as well as public investments and partnerships. The zone will be backed by more than $500 billion over the coming years by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, local as well as international investors,” he added.
The business and industrial city will be located in the Kingdom’s northwestern region and is the world’s first zone to extend across three countries, stretching its borders into neighboring Jordan and Egypt.
Adjacent to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, and near maritime trade routes that use the Suez Canal, the zone will power itself solely with wind power and solar energy.
The city aims to offer its inhabitants “an idyllic lifestyle paired with excellent economic opportunities that surpass that of any other metropolis. It will attract Saudi Arabians and expatriates, as do all other global societies,” PIF said in a statement.
Neom is the latest project in an ambitious plan to prepare Saudi Arabia for the post-oil era, and follows of plans sell shares in oil giant Saudi Aramco, create the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund and lift the long-standing ban on female drivers.
“Neom will be constructed from the ground-up, on greenfield sites, allowing it a unique opportunity to be distinguished from all other places that have been developed and constructed over hundreds of years,” he said.
PIF said in a statement that the first phase of the city would be complete in 2025. “(Neom) seeks to seize the great economic opportunities of the future by investing in them with confidence and vigor,” the investment body said.
“Neom provides a key opportunity to minimize GDP leakage by allowing those that normally would invest outside, to give them an option of investing locally, hence minimizing the GDP exodus that happens because of limited local investment opportunities,” PIF said in a statement.
The Kingdom has established a special authority to oversee Neom.
Wes Schwalje, COO of Dubai-based research and strategy center Tahseen Consulting, said: “Neom is bringing the same level of disruption to urban planning and economic development as Uber has brought to the technology sector. Investment is strongly influenced by stability, openness, and institutional quality.
“With the announcement of Neom, the Public Investment Fund and Saudi Arabia is communicating to the world that the Kingdom is open for business.”

https://twitter.com/x/status/922838528618369024

ArabNews

 

[Arabi]

SoftBank CEO: Will create largest solar power generation in the world in the new mega city (NEOM)

 

[Unite & Defend]

Interesting

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Seems like a massive investment , Israel is a risk to such Saudi Assets in long run

 

[The SC]

Seems like a massive investment , Israel is a risk to such Saudi Assets in long run

These cities _they are going to be two of them_ will be well protected.. THAAD, Patriot, Surveillance Early warning satellites and AWACs and the S-400 will do their jobs, not to forget the F-15SA and Typhoons and the other deterrent in the form of MRBM and much more to come by the end of building these Mega cities..2025 is just the end of the First phase of "NEOM", So expect this going at least till 2035..
Nut most important of all, there will be a lot of foreign investments..and a lot of US, European and Asian technology, commercial and industrial firms involved in the functioning and development of the city..

 

[Dinky]

http://www.smh.com.au/business/worl...gacity-says-crown-prince-20171024-gz7koh.html
Hertog said investors will want to see whether "circumventing some of the slow mainline bureaucracy and general social restrictions in Saudi Arabia in a special zone" can work.
"If this is to be an international hub, it needs to offer something better than Dubai, which is a high bar to cross,"

It will be interesting how this new city will be able to compete with Dubai

 

[The SC]

http://www.smh.com.au/business/worl...gacity-says-crown-prince-20171024-gz7koh.html
Hertog said investors will want to see whether "circumventing some of the slow mainline bureaucracy and general social restrictions in Saudi Arabia in a special zone" can work.
"If this is to be an international hub, it needs to offer something better than Dubai, which is a high bar to cross,"

It will be interesting how this new city will be able to compete with Dubai

I think it will be more advanced than Dubai, for the simple reason that it will use the most modern tech and methods and also some very innovative approach.. Dubai can be considered a test-bed, Naom will be the real thing..

 

[mahatir]

http://www.smh.com.au/business/worl...gacity-says-crown-prince-20171024-gz7koh.html
Hertog said investors will want to see whether "circumventing some of the slow mainline bureaucracy and general social restrictions in Saudi Arabia in a special zone" can work.
"If this is to be an international hub, it needs to offer something better than Dubai, which is a high bar to cross,"

It will be interesting how this new city will be able to compete with Dubai

This project will be integrated with the mega Suez Canal project in Egypt and Jordan , it will be the most advanced region in the middle east .

Finally Saudi Arabia ending Oil and Wahabi era , even though Saudi Arabia advanced tremendously the past few decades the country still has a lot of potential to move ahead .

 

[Arabi]

Russia to invest billions of dollars in Saudi Arabia’s future megacity

Russia wants to be an investor in Saudi Arabia’s project to build the Neom megacity, which will be 33 times bigger than New York City. The project will be financed by the Saudi government and private investors and powered entirely by wind and solar energy.
"The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) wants to be a co-investor with other international funds. The Fund will attract leading Russian companies to invest in the creation of the city of Neom, thereby contributing to their high-tech expansion in the promising markets of Saudi Arabia and the entire Middle East," RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev told reporters on Thursday.

"We are talking about investments worth several billion dollars," he said. The day before, Dmitriev met the Saudi crown prince to discuss further investment cooperation between Russia and Saudi Arabia.

As part of the work on Neom, RDIF plans to attract leading Russian companies working in solar energy, health, artificial intelligence technologies, high-speed transport, and the construction of port infrastructure.

RDIF, which is already an investor in Hyperloop, said the technology can be successfully used in Neom.

According to Dmitriev, Russian companies could also help turn Neom into a hub for the export of Russian agricultural products to the Middle East.

"We believe the opportunity to work with the world's leading technology companies in such an interesting place, with the support of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is a very interesting proposal," he said.

The city will be powered entirely by wind and solar energy. Neom, which will focus on food, entertainment, biotechnology, etc., is an attempt by Saudi Arabia to diversify its revenue, which has slumped as oil prices collapsed in 2014.

The 26,500 square km (10,230 square miles) zone will be situated on Saudi Arabia’s border with Jordan and Egypt and will require $500 billion in investment.

RT

 

[The SC]

Russia to invest billions of dollars in Saudi Arabia’s future megacity

Russia wants to be an investor in Saudi Arabia’s project to build the Neom megacity, which will be 33 times bigger than New York City. The project will be financed by the Saudi government and private investors and powered entirely by wind and solar energy.
"The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) wants to be a co-investor with other international funds. The Fund will attract leading Russian companies to invest in the creation of the city of Neom, thereby contributing to their high-tech expansion in the promising markets of Saudi Arabia and the entire Middle East," RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev told reporters on Thursday.

"We are talking about investments worth several billion dollars," he said. The day before, Dmitriev met the Saudi crown prince to discuss further investment cooperation between Russia and Saudi Arabia.

As part of the work on Neom, RDIF plans to attract leading Russian companies working in solar energy, health, artificial intelligence technologies, high-speed transport, and the construction of port infrastructure.

RDIF, which is already an investor in Hyperloop, said the technology can be successfully used in Neom.

According to Dmitriev, Russian companies could also help turn Neom into a hub for the export of Russian agricultural products to the Middle East.

"We believe the opportunity to work with the world's leading technology companies in such an interesting place, with the support of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is a very interesting proposal," he said.

The city will be powered entirely by wind and solar energy. Neom, which will focus on food, entertainment, biotechnology, etc., is an attempt by Saudi Arabia to diversify its revenue, which has slumped as oil prices collapsed in 2014.

The 26,500 square km (10,230 square miles) zone will be situated on Saudi Arabia’s border with Jordan and Egypt and will require $500 billion in investment.

RT

*It is 26,500 square meters, or 26.5 square kilometers according to some other sources..!!!?

 

[Arabi]

*It is 26,500 square meters, or 26.5 square kilometers according to some other sources..!!!?

According to AlekhbariyaTV, it's 26,500 square kilometres, that's almost similar to the size of both Kuwait & Qatar combined.

https://twitter.com/x/status/922751250759868416

 

[The SC]

According to AlekhbariyaTV, it's 26,500 square kilometres, that's almost similar to the size of both Kuwait & Qatar combined.

https://twitter.com/x/status/922751250759868416

I think it is.. it is just that yesterday I saw it in meters on different sites, today I visited more sites and it is 26,500 sq km..

 

[Saif al-Arab]

This is the most ambitious and grand project of this nature in the entire world. If it succeeds, even just partially, it will not only be a game changer for KSA but the entire GCC and Middle East region. This goes for the many other grand projects that are being built in KSA while we speak or are going to be built not far from now. Let alone the wider Saudi Arabia Vision 2030.

The publicity of this project has been felt across the world and investors, governments, global companies etc. have been noticing the many promising changes and ongoing and future projects in KSA.

Surely KSA is the most vibrant place in the Arab world and arguably the entire Muslim world.

If MbS succeeds his legacy will be cemented forever. In my view much more so than Ibn Saud.

In short, I really have a hard time figuring out if I am dreaming or not. Constant good news (almost) ever since MbS arrived. In fact the ridiculous doomsday barking about "KSA disappearing, collapsing" etc. nonsense due to the significant drop in oil prices back in 2014 and 2015, as I predicted, will be the biggest blessing for KSA in decades. The low oil prices kickstarted this amazing wave of change and even the biggest hardliners understood that the changes that many have been screaming for decades for, were necessary. Indeed hardship leads to change. Hopefully much more is yet to come.

Lastly this region of KSA (Hijaz) is absolutely breathtaking when it comes to nature, animal life, heritage etc. Stunning beaches and an untouched coastline, one of the biggest coral reefs in the world, one of the richest marine life, beautiful mountains, beautiful farmlands, various types of beautiful desert (sandy, rocky, mountainous, steppe-like desert) and numerous ancient heritage sites. BTW the interior of this part of Tabuk Province also receives snowfall several times each year during winter.

Another stunning area of Hijaz just like this project below (also in Hijaz):

According to AlekhbariyaTV, it's 26,500 square kilometres, that's almost similar to the size of both Kuwait & Qatar combined.

https://twitter.com/x/status/922751250759868416

The scale of this colossal project is unseen anywhere in the world.

The companies, governments, investors, countries etc. involved so far or showing great interest speak for themselves as well.

 

[MultaniGuy]

This is the most ambitious and grand project of this nature in the entire world. If it succeeds, even just partially, it will not only be a game changer for KSA but the entire GCC and Middle East region. This goes for the many other grand projects that are being built in KSA while we speak or are going to be built not far from now. Let alone the wider Saudi Arabia Vision 2030.

The publicity of this project has been felt across the world and investors, governments, global companies etc. have been noticing the many promising changes and ongoing and future projects in KSA.

Surely KSA is the most vibrant place in the Arab world and arguably the entire Muslim world.

If MbS succeeds his legacy will be cemented forever. In my view much more so than Ibn Saud.

In short, I really have a hard time figuring out if I am dreaming or not. Constant good news (almost) ever since MbS arrived. In fact the ridiculous doomsday barking about "KSA disappearing, collapsing" etc. nonsense due to the significant drop in oil prices back in 2014 and 2015, as I predicted, will be the biggest blessing for KSA in decades. Just like I said back then. The low oil prices kickstarted this amazing change and even the biggest hardliners understood that the changes that many have been screaming for decades for, were necessary. Much more is yet to come.

Lastly this region of KSA (Hijaz) is absolutely breathtaking when it comes to nature, animal life, heritage etc. Stunning beaches and an untouched coastline, one of the biggest coral reefs in the world, one of the richest marine life, beautiful mountains, beautiful farmlands, various types of beautiful desert (sandy, rocky, mountainous, steppe-like desert) and numerous ancient heritage sites. BTW the interior of this part of Tabuk Province also receives snowfall several times each year during winter.

Another stunning area of Hijaz just like this project below (also in Hijaz):

The scale of this colossal project is unseen anywhere in the world.

The companies, governments, investors, countries etc. involved so far or showing great interest speak for themselves as well.

well congratulations to Saudi Arabia.

Whether Saudi Arabia is the most vibrant place in the Muslim world, I do not know.

Yes, Saudi Arabia is doing well economically, so Saudi Arabia can do these projects.

We should say Mash'Allah. Well done for Saudi Arabia. May Saudi Arabia prosper.

 

[BATMAN]

I think it will be more advanced than Dubai, for the simple reason that it will use the most modern tech and methods and also some very innovative approach.. Dubai can be considered a test-bed, Naom will be the real thing..

It will be the most modern city, yet known to man kind.