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Neom

Neom is a planned smart city in the north west of Saudi Arabia. It is one of the kingdom's giga-projects and will include The Line, a 170km long city built in a straight line

The lake planned for the Trojena development, which will be built by Italian company Webuild

Trojena winter resort aims to be Neom’s inaugural site

The Saudi winter resort of Trojena will be completed and ready to open in 2027 ahead of the 2029 Asian Winter Games, a spokesman said this week, making it the first project inside the futuristic city Neom to come online.  Developers are under pressure to finish the giga-projects at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s economic […]

An alfalfa field in Arizona. Fondomonte used land in the state to grow the water-intensive crop for export to Saudi Arabia

Saudi company faces blowback over water use in Arizona

The US state of Arizona has cancelled land lease deals with a subsidiary of the Saudi dairy company Almarai after complaints of groundwater being depleted in the arid region. The cancellation highlights tensions over corporations controlling foreign land for food security.  In 2014 Almarai’s Fondomonte bought and leased thousands of acres in Arizona and California, […]

Vision 2030 developments such as Diriyah rely on oil income

Riyadh revises GDP but pins hopes on non-oil activity

Saudi Arabia has revised its real GDP figure for 2023 to a contraction of 0.8 percent, from a contraction of 0.9 percent. Oil production cuts hit the Saudi economy last year, while analysts are predicting a slide in crude prices this year.  Oil activities decreased by 9 percent in 2023, while non-oil activities increased by […]

Saudi construction delay

Big events take priority for stretched Saudi builders

There will be delays in delivering Saudi Arabia’s massive construction pipeline in time for 2030, but projects directly linked to specific international events such as the Asian Winter Games in 2029 will take priority, industry players told AGBI at the Big5 conference in Riyadh last week. About $1 trillion in giga-projects are under way across […]

The centrepiece of Neom's Gidori development will be a cantilevered beachfront complex

Neom plans golf community on Gulf of Aqaba

Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion giga-city Neom has revealed plans for Gidori, a residential golf community on the coastal hills of the Gulf of Aqaba. Gidori will house luxury hospitality, premium residences and a range of sports and leisure amenities designed using the area’s natural landscape. The centrepiece will be a cantilevered beachfront complex. The tower […]

Neom wellness Elanan

Neom announces ‘ultra-modern’ wellness resort

Saudi Arabia’s mega-city Neom has announced plans for another wellness resort on the Gulf of Aqaba.  The new site, Elanan, will be a wellness resort with architecture that uses “ultra-modern design techniques to form intricate sculptures that merge with the surrounding natural beauty,” Neom said on its website. The website shows images of a futuristic-looking […]

Boat, Transportation, Vehicle The newly enlarged Jeddah Islamic Port has space for 6.2 million containers

Expansion of Jeddah Islamic Port complete

The Saudi ports authority said this week it had completed a SAR1 billion ($270 million) expansion of Jeddah Islamic Port as tensions in the Red Sea continue.  The project to deepen and expand the northern container terminal in Jeddah, to be operated by the Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT) company, more than doubles capacity from 700,000 […]

City, Urban, Person Neom's New York office has opened in Manhattan's Hudsons Yards, home to The Vessel

Neom opens for business in US with New York office

Saudi Arabian giga-project Neom has opened an office in New York in a move designed to attract investment from the US for its green industries.  Neom said in a statement on February 6 that the Manhattan office would facilitate its business across the US, citing “industries, corporations, and investors” who could help in the development […]

Divers in the Gulf of Aqaba. Neom says Xaynor members will be able to enjoy the 'beautiful, unspoiled coastline'

Neom announces exclusive beach club Xaynor

Saudi Arabia’s mega-city Neom has launched its latest development – Xaynor, an exclusive private beach club on the Gulf of Aqaba for “the most fascinating people in the world”.  Xaynor will be a “discreet destination where club members can unwind on the Gulf of Aqaba’s beautiful unspoiled coastline”, Neom said in an announcement.  Neom has […]

Neom Guests at Zardun, a luxury ecotourism resort on the Gulf of Aqaba will be encouraged to explore the area's natural beauty

Neom reveals Zardun: a luxury eco-resort

Neom, the smart city being developed in the north west of Saudi Arabia, has announced another luxury ecotourism resort on the Gulf of Aqaba, called Zardun.  Neom has rolled out plans for a range of luxury resorts in recent months. These include Aquellum, with a floating marina; a tower complex called Epicon; the mountain hotel […]

Seven will open an entertainment complex on the seafront promenade on Al Nawras Island in Yanbu

Seven plans entertainment sites in remote parts of Saudi Arabia

Saudi giga-project developer Seven says it will open the first of 21 destinations next year as part of its mandate to build entertainment complexes in remote corners of the country. It plans to roll them out over the next six years.  Damien Latham, chief attraction officer at the Public Investment Fund subsidiary, said Seven had […]

Italian company WeBuild will construct three dams to create a 2.8 km-long lake at Trojena, which will host the 2029 Asian Winter Games

Neom awards $5bn contract for Trojena dam project

Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion Neom giga-project has awarded Italian contractor Webuild a $4.7 billion infrastructure development contract for the Trojena mountain destination. The Italian company will construct three dams to create the 2.8-km-long freshwater lake at Trojena, which will host the 2029 Asian Winter Games.  The main dam will be made of roller-compacted concrete (RCC) and will be 145 […]

Neom claims the Aquellum project will be accessed via the world's first floating marina, from where visitors will travel through an underground canal

Neom launches ‘futuristic’ project on Aqaba coast

Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion Neom giga-project has launched Aquellum, a “futuristic” mixed-use development on the Gulf of Aqaba coast.  The project will be concealed from the outside along the coastline, hidden within a 450-metre-high mountain range.   Visitors will access Aquellum through “the world’s first floating marina” in a specially designed vessel, entering through a concealed […]

A coral reef off Yabou' Island, part of Neom. The project aims to use mostly recycled materials and send zero waste to landfill

Gulf’s recycling industry grows with mega-projects

The volume of Gulf construction projects will increase the use of recycled materials, the head of the Bureau of Middle East Recycling has told AGBI.  Ibrahim Aboura, who is also managing director of Aboura Metals in Dubai and a committee chairman of the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), added that it will also raise the […]

The Avenues – Khobar will feature two shopping malls and hotels

The Avenues – Khobar to be built by Kuwait developer

Kuwaiti developer Shomoul Holding this week launched a retail and residential project in the eastern Saudi city of Khobar worth SAR7.2 billion ($1.92 billion), securing a SAR4.35 billion loan for the first stage of construction.  The government’s Tourism Development Fund, set up in 2020, provided the loan along with a consortium led by National Arab […]

Neom's food company Topian has been launched with the support of the Saudi ministry of environment, water and agriculture

Neom sets up company to work on Saudi food security

Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion Neom giga-project has set up a food company to support the kingdom’s targets for food security and climate change mitigation. Topian, which is wholly owned by Neom, will work on food production, distribution and consumption across five pillars: climate-proof agriculture, regenerative aquaculture, novel foods, personalised nutrition and sustainable food supply. The […]

A worker looks out at Riyadh from a tower under construction in the city

Big 5 builders seek answers to Saudi’s $1.5trn question

Saudi Arabia’s mammoth pipeline of giga-projects was the focus of the Big 5 Global conference in Dubai this week, as the region’s main construction players discussed how to juggle fast-approaching 2030 deadlines with the kingdom’s push for sustainable development. Saudi Arabia has signed off on $78 billion of construction projects so far this year, up […]

Worker on a Riyadh building site. Contractors expect strong growth in Saudi residential, commercial and infrastructure projects over the next year

Giga-projects gobble up building supplies and talent

Saudi Arabia’s enormous building programme is luring workers from other GCC countries and placing a strain on the supply of raw materials, construction executives have warned. Builders in the UAE in particular are concerned about the resources demanded by the Saudi market, which posted record growth in construction activity during the third quarter. The latest […]

Neom's Siranna will be home to a 65-key hotel and 35 'exclusive' residences

Neom’s Siranna promotes Saudi eco-friendly tourism

Saudi Arabia’s giga-project Neom has unveiled its latest eco-friendly tourism destination on the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba. Siranna, located in northwest Saudi Arabia, will be home to a 65-key hotel and 35 “exclusive” residences. The architecture of the “ultra-luxurious” destination comprises hexagonal pillars that will “blend into the adjoining mountain and wadi”, Neom […]

Many of Neom's projects are still shrouded in mystery but plans for The Line have been shared publicly

Neom registers 33 new patents for projects

Saudi Arabia’s futuristic city Neom has ramped up its applications for patents on names and logos, registering a total of 33 this year, including 27 within the last two months, indicating that at least two new major projects are still to come.   Neom Company has made a total of 45 applications to the US patent […]

A crowd watches the Neom Volocopter aircraft on a test flight

Neom flying taxis ‘should be ready by 2026,’ says developer

Neom could have “flying taxis” in the air by 2026 if testing and regulatory work stays on track, according to the company developing them for the Saudi giga-project.  Borja Blond, CEO of the joint venture between Neom and German manufacturer Volocopter, said it ran successful test flights in the summer and was working with the […]