NEOM - Sharma Valley
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Neom Construction Village - I believe this is the place where the workers will be living and the initial stages of the project will take place from.

NEOM as envisioned (and, in my opinion, as it'll never be)



Image source: https://twitter.com/f_fahad_x/status/1176170774828408832

The Saudi “NEOM” company officially started its operations today from its new headquarters in the project site in the northwest of the Kingdom after the company obtained the approval of its board of directors to move the headquarters from Riyadh to the NEOM area. This step enhances the company’s workflow, coinciding with the acceleration of the project development and the start of construction work in many different areas within it.

More than 450 employees work from the new headquarters of the company, which is located 35 kilometers from Neom Bay Airport, and the number of employees will increase by the end of this year to reach 700 employees, with the readiness of the specially constructed residential area for them.

A number of mega projects have also been signed, such as the largest partnership contract of its kind with Air Products and ACWA Power, worth more than 18 billion riyals, to build the largest green hydrogen production facility in the world in NEOM in an environmentally friendly way, as well as awarding two contracts to AECOM and “ACOM” companies. Bechtel to design and manage one of the world’s largest infrastructure projects.

Source: https://www.saudi24news.com/2020/10/saudi-arabias-neom-strengthens-its-activities-with-this-step.html

Saudi Arabia’s futuristic city, Neom has announced that it has awarded a $35 million contract to Red Sea International for the design, build and facilities management of accommodation units, offices and all supporting building amenities within the giga-development.

Under the terms of the contract, scope of work will include comprehensive facility management and camp operations services including catering, housekeeping, laundry maintenance, medical, security and recreational services.

Located on the Red Sea cost, Neom is a $500 billion investment and part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which aims to attract foreign investment and create jobs in an effort to reduce the kingdom’s dependence on oil. First phase of the giga-project will end in 2025, and the whole project is expected to be completed with a period of 30 to 50 years.

Source: https://meconstructionnews.com/43911/neom-awards-multiple-contracts-worth-35-million-to-red-sea-international

Construction on NEOM has been ongoing through the pandemic. Looks like it could be changing from a big tourist investment to a more domestic market though. Does anyone have any images or recent news from the site?

With a budget deficit expected to reach nearly 13% of output this year—above International Monetary Fund benchmarks for emerging-market economies—Saudi Arabia’s finances are coming under strain. The authorities have already tripled the value-added tax rate to replenish government coffers and cut cash handouts meant to cushion a rising cost of living.

With nearly $450 billion in foreign monetary reserves and the world’s second-largest proven oil reserves, Saudi Arabia is unlikely to run out of money soon. The kingdom’s roughly $300 billion sovereign-wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund—headed by Prince Mohammed—finances the biggest projects; it recently got a $40 billion injection from the central bank.

A representative said that PIF’s financial commitment to the projects remains unchanged and that their timelines won’t be significantly affected by current economic conditions. Since the pandemic began, PIF has awarded a series of contracts, most recently to U.S. project management firm, Bechtel, to develop infrastructure at Neom, which currently has just a few royal palaces and workers’ camps.

The projects may eventually be shifted to attract more domestic investment and consumption. That has already started happening in at least one of the developments, Neom, as senior Western executives were replaced by Saudis. On Sunday, Neom announced an agreement with the Saudi energy ministry to cooperate on renewable energy, electricity production and artificial intelligence.

The projects are so big that PIF calls them gigaprojects. Neom, at an estimated cost of $500 billion and featuring experimental technologies such as a solar dome for water desalination, is to be 33 times larger than New York City in area. The Red Sea resort, which aims to build Maldives-style hotels hovering above the water, will be the size of Belgium. And a sports and entertainment city called Qiddiya, which will have a Six Flags theme park with the world’s fastest roller coaster, is expected to be 2½ times as big as Disney World.

Source: https://www.livemint.com/news/world/saudi-crown-prince-barrels-ahead-with-big-projects-to-boost-economy-11598503255746.html

Does any publicly available masterplan exist for NEOM. All I see is various fantasmic artwork and none of it has any relation or link to the other.

Citizens of Saudi Arabia who are deemed eligible for compensation in the coastal area of the north-west of the kingdom are reportedly to be granted plots of land for free in the future megacity of NEOM.

According to the state-run Saudi Press Agency today, Prince Fahd Bin Sultan – the governor of Tabuk where the futuristic city is being built – laid out the first part of an economic package which aims to improve the living standards of those in the area.

With the Saudi government now seeking to grant the original residents free plots of land in the new city as compensation, they will apparently be joining the one million people from around the world that the Gulf kingdom hopes to attract.

Source:
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200623-saudi-citizens-to-be-given-free-land-in-future-city-of-neom-as-compensation/

Great article in The Times (UK):

There isn’t much about the view along the Red Sea’s northeast coastline that gives you a clue to its promised future. Flat, burnt-orange sands loll gently to the deep blue coastline of this remote patch of Saudi Arabia.

Full article:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/crown-prince-mohammed-bin-salmans-saudi-arabia-dream-will-neom-survive-the-oil-price-slump-m9qt2pbtd

The creator of the previous video, Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti, was killed in mid April and the controversy surrounding the changes to this area keeps growing.

The death of Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti on 13 April highlighted the tension between the tribe and the kingdom’s development plans. A resident of the town of Khuraibat, he had become the face of the tribes’ criticism of their forced eviction, voicing complaints in videos posted to social media, and appearing in others’ videos. One piece of footage showed him confronting a Saudi official who visited the town to speak with residents.

Construction is ploughing ahead despite the challenges of the pandemic and the historic drop in the price of oil, Saudi’s primary export. The project is part of the crown prince’s flagship Vision 2030 project, intended to diversify the economy away from oil, which has sustained the kingdom since the early 20th century. Yet the funds required to see Neom realised will inevitably require oil wealth.

Yet part of the site is the home of the Huwaitat tribe, who have spanned Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the Sinai peninsula for generations, tracing their lineage back before the founding of the Saudi state. At least 20,000 members of the tribe now face eviction due to the project, with no information about where they will live in the future.

“For the Huwaitat tribe, Neom is being built on our blood, on our bones,” says Alia Hayel Aboutiyah al-Huwaiti, an outspoken activist and member of the tribe living in London. “It’s definitely not for the people already living there! It’s for tourists, people with money. But not for the original people living there.”

Example of the planned air taxi's on display.


Source: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/may/04/its-being-built-on-our-blood-the-true-cost-of-saudi-arabia-5bn-mega-city-neom