NEOM (Saudi Arabia)
Views: 270,238 Subscribe

NEOM Wildlife Reserve
Bajdah, in the Hisma Desert.

I had a really enjoyable visit last weekend and other than the stunning landscapes and rock formations ( previous post) I marveled at the array of incredible wildlife that our colleagues in NEOM Nature have introduced back into the region .

This includes :- Arabian Oryx , Nubian Ibex, Reem Gazelle and ….see if you can spot a fourth species from my pics below

Just amazing. Driving around the reserve and being so close to wildlife that I would never normally get the chance to see .

Well done NEOM Nature team. Reinforcing the protection of endangered species , restoring their role in the natural environment.

And all of this will be , to some extent , “ the garden” to THE LINE , when the city is built and comes alive in the years ahead. And remember too, the beatiful beach and Red Sea location also on our doorstep.

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nick-peel-a5943a9_neom-wildlifereserve-bajdah-activity-7300375236057731073-qa1l/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAAvc9UB1jA15FR73YhKZxjtleXeHg9SDX4

We'll soon post a lot of NEOM updates/impressions:



NEOM meets the Red Sea/Egypt:

NEOM only has three operating hotels as of 24 Feb 2025.

The Hampton by Hilton at NEOM Community 1. Very tiny rooms. Another one is about to open at NEOM Community 2:


Both the L'azure and the adjacent more modern Royal L'azure, by the beach:

Great Reuters article:
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-prioritizes-sports-neom-plans-costs-balloon-sources-say-2024-11-13/

Saudi Arabia has scaled back lofty ambitions for its NEOM gigaproject to prioritize completing elements essential to hosting global sporting events over the next decade as rising costs weigh, three sources told Reuters a day after the sudden departure of the project's longtime CEO.

But the world's top oil exporter has had to rein in some of its ambitious plans over the past year (...)

"When the (NEOM) project was first pitched as an idea, costs were $500 billion. However, The Line alone was going to cost over a trillion which was why it's been scaled back," one consultant with knowledge of the matter said.

But work on the project is now solely focused on finishing a 2.4 kilometre stretch including a stadium that is expected to host the final match of the 2034 soccer World Cup, after which future plans will be evaluated, one of the three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Another priority is the completion of Trojena, a planned mountain resort which will host the Asian Winter Games in 2029, the same source said, adding that NEOM had been "scaled down and broken into chunks."

Neom has ordered an initial batch of eight Candela P-12 electric foiling water taxis to be deployed on its planned water transport network

"The P-12 is designed to create zero-emission water transport systems which have significant improvements over traditional water commuting," said Candela's founder and CEO, Gustav Hasselskog. "Unlike legacy systems with large, slow, and energy-inefficient conventional ferries, the Candela P-12 is a smaller and faster unit, allowing much more frequent departures and quicker journeys for passengers.

The P-12 can accommodate up to 30 passengers, depending on configuration, and rises above the water on computer-guided hydrofoils when take-off speed is reached. Its C-POD motors can zip it to a service speed of 25 knots (28.77 mph) while its 252-kWh battery bank is reckoned good for more than 2 hours per charge.

Source:https://newatlas.com/marine/neom-candela-p12-electric-hydrofoil-water-taxi/

Direct Dubai-NEOM flights. This is the beginning!!

Engineering Consultants Group (ECG) of Egypt has been awarded a contract to design five Saudi NEOM Construction Villages (NCV) spanning 1,647,000m2. ECG’s scope of work includes design review, data collection, masterplanning, concept design, the basis of design report, design development, detailed design, and IFC (Issued for Construction). Saudi Arabia’s Al Fanar Company is also associated with the project.

According to ECG, four out of the five villages cover an area of 798,000, and the fifth site covers an area of 849,000m2. The villages include residential facilities, combined facilities, utility buildings, and separate amenities for Saudi NEOM staff, contractors’ staff, and FM staff.

In September 2019, Saudi NEOM signed a partnership with Al-Tamimi Group and SATCO to finance, construct, and operate the financing, build and operate the Construction Village that will accommodate workers who will move to the site to develop various areas of the NEOM project.
Al-Tamimi Group had secured the contract to develop two residential areas within the village with a capacity to house 10,000 residents each. Meanwhile, SATCO was awarded a contract to build a third village with the same capacity. It was announced at that time that the two developers will operate the village for 10 years.

Saudi NEOM announced at the time that the construction village would consist of three residential areas for 30,000 residents and could be expanded later as the project develops to accommodate more than 100,000 residents.

Source: https://www.constructionweekonline.com/projects-tenders/egypt-engineering-consultants-group-to-design-saudi-neom-construction-village