Neom

Neom (styled NEOM; Arabic: نيوم‎ Neom, Hejazi pronunciation: [nɪˈjo̞ːm]) is a planned cross-border city in the Tabuk Province of northwestern Saudi Arabia. It is planned to incorporate smart city technologies and also function as a tourist destination. The site is near the Red Sea and the borders of Egypt, and Jordan (However, Saudi Arabia has no land border with Egypt).[2] It will cover a total area of 26,500 km2 (10,200 sq mi) and will extend 460 km along the coast of the Red Sea.

NEOM

نيوم
City
Neom City Logo
NEOM
Neom in Saudi Arabia
Coordinates: 28°17′15″N 34°50′42″E
Country Saudi Arabia
ProvinceTabuk
Announced24 October 2017 (2017-10-24)
Founded byMohammad bin Salman
SeatHouse of Saud
Government
 • DirectorNadhmi Al-Nasr[1]
Area
 • Total26,500 km2 (10,200 sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+03 (Arabian Standard Time)
WebsiteOfficial website

Saudi Arabia aims to complete the first section of NEOM by 2025.[3][4] The project has an estimated cost of $500 billion.[5] On January 29, 2019, Saudi Arabia has announced setting up a closed joint-stock company named NEOM with $500 billion.[6] The aim of this company that is wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund, is to develop the economic zone of Neom.[7] The project is planned to be totally powered by renewable energy sources.[8] Nadhmi Al-Nasr is the CEO of NEOM Joint-stock company.[9]

Inauguration of the project

The city was announced by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 24, 2017.[10] He said it will operate independently from the “existing governmental framework” with its own tax and labor laws and an "autonomous judicial system."[11]

The initiative emerged from Saudi Vision 2030, a plan that seeks to reduce Saudi Arabia's dependence on oil, diversify its economy, and develop public service sectors.[12] Plans call for robots to perform functions such as security, logistics, home delivery, and caregiving[13] and for the city to be powered solely with wind and solar power.[11] Because the city will be designed and constructed from scratch, other innovations in infrastructure and mobility have been suggested. Planning and construction will be initiated with $500 billion from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and international investors.[14] The first phase of the project is scheduled for completion by 2025.[15]

Name

The name "Neom" was constructed from two words. The first three letters form the Ancient Greek prefix nέο Neo- meaning “new”. The fourth letter is from the abbreviation of Arabic: مستقبل‎, romanized: Mustaqbal, Hejazi pronunciation: [mʊsˈtagbal], the Arabic word for “future.”[16]

Location

The NEOM project[17] is located in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia in the northwest of the kingdom,[18] extended along with Aqaba Gulf and 468 km of coastline with beaches and coral reefs, as well as mountains up to 2,500 m high, with a total area of around 26,500 sq. km.[19]

Inspiration
Aerial view in 2012 of the Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

Some of the illustrations for the Neom project were taken from the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, leaving commentators to note: "using an actual shot of Singapore to depict an upcoming construction project in Saudi Arabia is an odd choice."[20][21]

Directors

Klaus Kleinfeld was announced as the inaugural director for the Neom project upon its launch by Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman on 24 October 2017.[22] In 2018, Kleinfeld signed Gladstone Place Partners LLC for "Communications Services" for the Neom project, for a fee of USD $199,500 plus expenses of USD $45,000.[23][24]

On 3 July 2018, Kleinfeld was announced as the new advisor to Muhammad bin Salman from 1 August 2018 onwards. Nadhmi Al-Nasr would succeed him as the new Director of Neom from 1 August 2018.[22]

Neom Bay

The development works of the project’s first phase Neom Bay was planned to start in the first quarter of 2019 and be completed by 2020.[25] The developments were to include constructing the airport at Sharma which would operate regular commercial flights between Riyadh and Neom.[26] The plan of Neom Bay's developments also involves building the first residential area in Neom as part of phase 1.[27]

NEOM Bay Airport
Main article: Neom Airport

In June 2019, it was announced that the NEOM Bay Airport would start to receive commercial flights after the first phase of the airport was completed with runway's length of 3,757 meters.[28][29][30] The airport that is planned to be located at Neom Bay has been registered by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) with the code 'NUM'.[29]

Development

In late 2018, after the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman said that "No one will invest [in the project] for years".[31] Advisers to Neom, including Daniel L. Doctoroff[32] and architect Norman Foster, were reported to have distanced themselves from the project and the "toxic" Saudi crown prince.[33] Also, the scope of the projects based on the crown prince's vision incorporates some technologies that don’t even exist yet, like flying cars, robot maids, dinosaur robots, and a giant artificial moon.[34] It is estimated that 20,000 people will be forced to relocate to accommodate the planned city.[35]

Attempts to evict Howeitat tribe

On 13 April 2020 Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti posted videos online announcing that Saudi security forces were trying to evict him and other members of the Howeitat tribe from their historic homeland to make way for the development of Neom.[36] Alya Abutayah Alhwaiti, a Saudi human rights activist from the same tribe circulated the videos.[36] In the videos Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti said he would defy the eviction orders though he expected Saudi authorities would plant weapons in his house to incriminate him. He was later killed by Saudi security forces, who claimed he had opened fire on them.[36] This version of events was disputed by Alya Abutayah Alhwaiti who said that he didn't own firearms.[36] His funeral was held near the village of al-Khoraibah and was well attended despite the presence of Saudi security forces.[36]

Eight cousins of Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti have been arrested for protesting against the eviction order but Alya Abutayah Alhwaiti said that she and human rights activists in the west hoped to challenge the arrests. The tribe are not opposed to the development of Neom but do not want to be evicted from their traditional homeland. Alya Abutayah Alhwaiti received death threats from people she says are supporters of Mohammed bin Salman.[36] The threats were reported to British police.[36]

In June 2020, Mohammed bin Salman hired a US public relations and lobbying firm to counter the criticism and controversies around the Neom city project. The country signed a contract worth $1.7 million with the PR company Ruder Finn.[37]

gollark: > I think we went wrong at allopathic medicine
gollark: It's at least "true" in that it's definitely between 0 and 100%.
gollark: It would be like if I just wrote `x is not equal to infinity` instead of actually solving an equation.
gollark: While technically true, it's useless.
gollark: What if it turns you into a zombie, but only after exactly 6 months?

See also

References
  1. PROFILE: Who is Nadhmi al-Nasri, the new CEO of Saudi Arabia’s NEOM?, alarabiya.net.
  2. "نيوم".. تفاصيل أضخم مشروع سعودي ممتد بين 3 دول سكاي نيوز عربية , نشر في 24 أكتوبر 2017 ودخل في 24 أكتوبر 2017.
  3. "Bloomberg - Are you a robot?". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  4. Bostock, Bill. "Everything we know about Neom, a 'mega-city' project in Saudi Arabia with plans for flying cars and robot dinosaurs". Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  5. Said, Justin Scheck, Rory Jones and Summer (2019-07-25). "A Prince's $500 Billion Desert Dream: Flying Cars, Robot Dinosaurs and a Giant Artificial Moon". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  6. "UPDATE 1-Saudi NEOM set up as joint stock company run by state fund..." Reuters. 2019-01-29. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  7. "Saudi Arabia announces creation of Neom Company". Arab News. 2019-01-29. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  8. "Submerged floating bridge wins 'Dream NEOM' contest in KSA". Arab News. 2019-04-13. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
  9. "Saudi Arabia announces creation of Neom Company". Arab News. 2019-01-29. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  10. "Saudi Arabia Just Announced Plans to Build a Mega City That Will Cost $500 Billion". Bloomberg L.P. 24 October 2017.
  11. "Saudis set $500 billion plan to develop zone linked with Jordan and Egypt". CNBC. 24 October 2017.
  12. "Saudi Arabia Reveals NEOM, its Planned Futuristic Megacity". Inverse. October 25, 2017.
  13. "Saudi Arabia's new city, Neom, a mecca for robots". The Washington Times. 24 October 2017.
  14. "Saudi Arabia's new super city: Fast facts". Fox Business. 24 October 2017.
  15. "NEOM - Frequently Asked Questions" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-11-17. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  16. "What does Saudi Arabia's mega project 'NEOM' actually stand for?". Alarabiya. 24 October 2017.
  17. "NEOM Saudi Arabia Mega-City - Neom Saudi City". Neom Saudi City. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
  18. Louis Boisgibault, Fahad Al Kabbani (2020): Energy Transition in Metropolises, Rural Areas and Deserts. Wiley - ISTE. (Energy series) ISBN 9781786304995.
  19. "WHERE IS NEOM? THE UNIQUE LOCATION". NEOM SAUDI CITY. October 25, 2017.
  20. VICE uses a picture of Gardens by the Bay in a story about a Saudi Arabia megacity, leaving people perplexed, Oct. 25, 2017
  21. Saudi Arabia Is Building a $643-Billion, Green-Powered Megacity, By Alex Stanhope, Oct 25 2017, Vice
  22. "Klaus Kleinfeld named adviser to Saudi crown prince, NEOM appoints new CEO". Arabnews. Retrieved 03 July 2018.
  23. FARA registration, US department of Justice
  24. Saudi Arabia's client roster
  25. "Saudi Arabia to start first phase of Neom project". Arab News. 2019-01-16. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
  26. "Saudi Arabia gives green light for development of NEOM Bay". english.alarabiya.net. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
  27. Bloomberg. "Saudi Arabia to begin building homes in futuristic city Neom". ArabianBusiness.com. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
  28. "Saudi civil aviation announces the opening of NEOM Bay airport". Arab News. 2019-06-25. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  29. "Neom airport wins IATA classification as commercial facility". Saudigazette. 2019-05-22. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  30. "Saudi Arabia's NEOM airport set to receive first commercial flight on June 30". english.alarabiya.net. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  31. Saudi prince’s flagship plan beset by doubts after Khashoggi death, Simeon Kerr and Anjli Raval, December 12, 2018, Financial Times
  32. Top tech execs will help Saudi Arabia build its mega city of the future, By Zahraa Alkhalisi, October 11, 2018, CNN
  33. Khashoggi killing derails Bin Salman’s flagship project, December 12, 2018, Middle East Monitor
  34. "A Prince's $500 Billion Desert Dream: Flying Cars, Robot Dinosaurs and a Giant Artificial Moon". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  35. https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/saudi-arabia-crown-prince-500b-city-aims-for-futuristic-jetsons-like-amenities. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  36. Gardner, Frank (23 April 2020). "Saudi tribe challenges crown prince's plans for tech city". BBC News. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  37. "Saudi prince defends trophy projects amid crisis". Asia Times. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
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