Saudi Arabia's $500 billion megacity: NEOM KSA
The development of the NEOM region inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has taken initial steps since its inception in 2017. The big budget project has set high goals for the future of living and working. With a boost budget of 500 billion US Dollars and an area 26,500 square kilometers in size some innovation and spectacular events could be expected.
Currently three main development efforts are taking place: The extremely heavily promoted city of the future “The Line” with its 500-meter-tall landscape cutting reflective walls, the water-floating 8-sided and 7-kilometer-wide swimming logistics and industrial hub called Oxagon, and the high above Ski-Resort Trojena which is hosting the 2029 outdoor Asian Winter Games in the desert.
The core ideas of NEOM include the rise to be a regional Silicon Valley, realizing the dream to be a futuristic tourism destination, and gaining recognition through unseen Mega Sports Events. NEOM in the Tabuk province has a lot of unique offers as a desert region with a rich coastal area. With an arid hot desert climate showing rainfall of maximal 412mm and temperatures rising to 44 °C the region still has a very biodiverse ecosystem around the camels.
The planned technology infrastructure focuses on total digital connectivity. With its own hyperscale data center (ZeroPoint DC) and wireless and fiber cable networking worth a billion US Dollars data from everything and everyone is harvested for the smart city. For entertainment Glow-in-the dark beaches and a fake moon will help the Futurists to live the life of the future.
| Facts | |||||
| NEOM | 1 trillion USD Investment | area of 26,500 square km ( larger than Kuwait or Israel) | powered by 100% renewable energy | 450,000 people living there by 2026 | |
| The parts of NEOM are | The Line (City, 170km long) | Oxagon (logistics area, 33 times the size of New York City) | Trojena (outdoor skiing destination, highest peaks in Saudi Arabia with 2,600 metres above sea level for 700,000 Tourists) | ||
| The Line | 200-metre-wide series of "modules" | two 500-metre-high walls | 170-km-long mirrored exterior facades | No cars | |
| Oxagon | 8-sided, 7 km wide | Floating on water | population of 90,000 | 70,000 jobs by the year 2030 | |
| Trojena | hosting 2029 Asian Winter Games in the desert | height of 1,500 bto 2,600 m | 6 different districts | 3,600 hotel rooms | 42,000 square-metre retail and dining spaces |
| Nature | |||||
| Climate | rainfall rate 57.5 mm/year (between 11 and 412 mm) | average temperature is 22.5 °C (maximum reaches 44 °C and minimum 9 °C) | |||
| Animals in NEOM (Biodivesity) | 7 major animal groups (including lots of camels) | 35 mammal species | 37 reptile species | 167 bird species | |
| Plants in NEOM (Biodivesity) | 106 species | 86 genera | 36 families | ||
| Vision | |||||
| Core ideas | regional silicon valley | futuristic tourism destination | Mega Sports Events | ||
| Highlights | Glow-in-the dark beaches | Billions of new trees | Levitating trains | A fake moon | |
| Digital Connectivity | 200m USD Joint venture with Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite operator OneWeb | 300km of fiber cables | 200 5G cell sites | 500m USD NEOM hyperscale data center (ZeroPoint DC) | |
| Transportation | NEOM BAY airport | Spine Layer Tunnel Logistics and Transportation(The line) with Ultra High speed subway, AI enabled transport | High-speed rail between parts | No cars | |
| Pushing the boundaries | |||||
| NEOS Data System | Harvests 90% of peoples data | Each resident of Neom will have a unique ID number | Super App Ecosystem | ||
| Employees for planning the future | International architects | Futurists | Hollywood production designers | ||
| Legal framework | sale of alcohol had not been ruled out | Residents of NEOM will be classified the same as living in other parts of the Kingdom | completely under Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty and regulations, | ||