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The advertisement for the city of NEOM promises that it will be more like a playground and entertainment
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced on Tuesday that the “NEOM” economic zone is likely to be offered for subscription during 2024.
The construction work of the “NEOM” area has begun, which is a business area in Tabuk Governorate, aiming to diversify the economy of the largest oil exporting country in the world.
The Saudi Crown Prince said: “NEOM will add (through the offering process) one trillion riyals ($266 billion) to the size of the Saudi stock market. At least 1.2 trillion riyals at the beginning, with the total exceeding 5 trillion following the project is completed.”
He added that the cost of the region’s first phase would come from the Public Investment Fund, the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund.
The Public Investment Fund is the main investor in the “NEOM” area, a project that uses advanced technologies located on an area of 26,500 square kilometers on the Red Sea, and includes a number of areas, including industrial and logistical areas, and is scheduled to be completed in 2025.
Bin Salman said that the kingdom is also planning to invest in Egypt to complete the NEOM project, including the Sharm el-Sheikh tourist area, which is located on the Red Sea, adding: “We will create huge investments in Egypt.”
The Saudi Crown Prince’s statements came during a press conference that was reported by many media outlets following announcing the designs of the “The Line” project, which is “a reflection of what urban communities will be like in the future in a zero-emission environment, and contribute to preserving 95 percent of NEOM’s land for nature, It relies on 100 percent renewable energy, to make human health and well-being an absolute priority, rather than the priority of transportation and infrastructure, as in traditional cities,” according to the official Saudi announcement.
Bin Salman added: “The NEOM project is one of the important projects in Vision 2030, and “The Line” is an affirmation of our firm commitment to presenting a project to the whole world, as NEOM is a place for those who dream of a better tomorrow, in which everyone will put their innovative and creative stamp.”
The Saudi Crown Prince said during the press conference that all projects of the Public Investment Fund will be offered on the stock exchange.
photo released, Archyde.com
He added that the Saudi government will raise capital of up to 500 billion riyals in 2027, and will resort to the market in order to raise an additional 200 billion to 300 billion riyals for Neom.
“We have big goals to make Saudi Arabia among the top three stock markets on the planet,” the crown prince added.
The “NEOM” project, according to what was announced, aims to attract the most prominent talents and minds from the Kingdom and the rest of the world to create a prosperous and sustainable economy in line with the Kingdom’s vision 2030 to diversify the sources of national income. And competencies from the Kingdom and the rest of the world in various business sectors.
The prospect covers a total area of more than 26,500 square kilometers (10,230 square miles) – making it larger than Kuwait or Israel – and the developers claim that NEOM will be located entirely outside the confines of the current Saudi judicial system, and that it will be governed by an independent legal system crafted by investors.
Moreover, NEOM will be home to Oxagon, a city that floats on water that stretches for 7 kilometers, making it the largest floating building in the world. NEOM CEO Nazmi Al-Nasr said the port city “will welcome its first tenants at the beginning of 2022.”
photo released, Neom.com
The Oxagon Floating Industrial Center is one of the planned components of NEOM
Project Features As announced by Riyadh
- The project is located on the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba with a total area of 26,500 square kilometers.
- The project extends from the northwest of the Kingdom, and includes lands within the Egyptian and Jordanian borders.
- Saudi Arabia has established a special authority to supervise the NEOM project headed by the Crown Prince, and it will be supported by the Public Investment Fund, in addition to local and international investors.
- Saudi Arabia and Egypt have established a joint fund of $10 billion to develop land on an area of more than 1,000 square kilometers in South Sinai within the NEOM project, and a Saudi official told Archyde.com that Riyadh’s part in the joint investment fund will be cash to help develop the Egyptian side of the “NEOM” project. .”
- The project will rely on renewable energy sources only.
- The Kingdom will establish 7 marine tourist attractions between cities and tourism projects in NEOM, in addition to 50 resorts and 4 small cities in a separate tourism project in the Red Sea, while Egypt will focus on developing the resorts of Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada.
- The NEOM project will focus on 9 specialized investment sectors.
- The project is a special investment zone that is excluded from the ordinary laws and regulations of the state, such as taxes, customs, labor laws and other legal restrictions on business, with the exception of sovereign regulations, which will allow the zone the ability to manufacture products and provide services at globally competitive prices.
- The first phase of the project will end in 2025, and the project is expected to be completed within a period of 30 to 50 years.
