Neom
What is Neom?
What is the significance of the name ‘Neom’?
What are the key regions of Neom?
What is The Line in Neom?
What criticisms has the Neom project faced?
News •
Neom, futuristic, high-tech planned mega-project in Saudi Arabia designed to harness technology, sustainability, and development to diversify the country’s oil-dependent economy. It is the cornerstone of the Vision 2030 project proposed by Mohammed bin Salman, the son of King Salman (2015– ) who was later appointed crown prince.
The name Neom, pronounced NEE-ahm, begins with the Greek prefix neo, meaning new, followed by the letter m, which is significant as the first letter of Mohammed bin Salman’s name, as well as the Arabic word mustaqbal, meaning future.
Neom’s formulation and implementation
Neom was launched in 2017, part of Mohammed’s plan for a post-oil future for his country. The ambitious project was planned to be reliant entirely on solar and wind power, with a focus on sustainability and carbon neutrality. It was proposed as a megaproject of a broader plan, dubbed Vision 2030, in which the Saudi government sought to diversify the economy and promote tourism as an economic engine for the future economy. The construction of Neom is funded in part by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, known as the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and in part by private investors.
More than 20 architecture firms from around the world were hired to work on Neom, including OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture), Bjarke Ingels Group, Zaha Hadid Architects, UNStudio, Gensler, Tom Wiscombe Architecture, Mark Foster Gage Architects, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, and HOK.
The development of Neom and Vision 2030 coincided with some degree of liberalization in Saudi Arabia. In the years after Neom’s announcement, restrictions on the entertainment industry were relaxed, as were some of the social restrictions on women. In 2019 the kingdom launched a visa program for tourism, and in the 2020s it began spending heavily on international sports, including football (soccer), golf, and Formula One racing. Observers generally attributed these shifts to its plans for economic diversification, with the goal of reforming its public image to attract foreign investors and tourists. But the development of Neom and other projects faced criticism from human rights groups, most notably for poor working conditions, the exploitation of migrant workers, and the forcible and violent eviction of the Howeitat (al-Ḥuwayṭāt) tribe from land slated for development.
Vision and layout
Located on 10,200 square miles (26,500 square km) in northwestern Saudi Arabia bordering the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, the planned Neom development includes five distinct regions: Sindalah, The Line, Oxagon, Trojena, and Magna, the last of which comprises about a dozen subprojects. The first region to open for tourism was Sindalah, a luxury yachting and golf resort destination in the Red Sea that opened in October 2024.
The Line
The Line was originally envisioned as two parallel linear skyscrapers measuring about 1,640 feet (500 meters) high and 650 feet (200 meters) across, stretching out about 105 miles (170 km) across the desert. The mirrored structures would be a new concept in urban development, dubbed “zero gravity urbanism,” which would create a carbon-neutral and car-free linear smart city with high-speed rail connecting it end-to-end in 20 minutes and all amenities within a 5-minute walk for its residents. In 2024 it was announced that the project’s first phase of construction would top out at 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long with an expected completion date of 2034 in advance of the 2034 World Cup.
Oxagon and Trojena
Oxagon was designed as a floating port city on the Red Sea that would connect with ships traveling through the Suez Canal and run port operations through automation. Trojena, a ski resort centered on an artificial lake in the mountains, has an expected completion date of 2029, when the resort is set to host the Asian Winter Games. It was projected to eventually draw 700,000 tourists per year.
Magna
The Magna region is planned to include a number of tourist destinations or luxury residential communities. These include the mountain resort of Leyja, built into a natural valley in the mountains near the Gulf of Aqaba; Epicon, described as a desert oasis with hotels and beach villas; the ultra-luxury retreat Siranna; the coastal yachting city of Norlana; Aquellum, described by developers as a futuristic subterranean city built into the side of a mountain and invisible to the outside world; and Utamo, which is planned as an immersive art, entertainment, and event district.
Other aspects of Neom
In addition to the development of infrastructure, planners of Neom initially incorporated ideas such as cloud seeding, to make it rain in the desert; cameras, drones, and facial recognition technology to track the movements of residents and visitors; robot maids, robot dinosaurs, and robot martial arts fighters; and a giant artificial moon to illuminate the sky each night, possibly live-streaming messages to observers. Although the grandiosity of Neom as originally envisioned is largely seen as unrealistic and far beyond what the project will ever achieve, many observers remain optimistic that a scaled-down version could nevertheless stimulate innovation and provide new opportunities for luxury and international business.