Flying Cabs, Artificial Moon & More: A Peek Into Saudi Arabia’s $500 Billion NEOM Smart City Project

The ambitious project involves turning an expanse of desert the size of Belgium into a high-tech city-region called NEOM.

Riyadh: In a project touted to revolutionize mountain tourism in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had announced the establishment of a new global destination in 2017. According to a Bloomberg report, the project involves turning an expanse of desert the size of Belgium into a high-tech city-region called NEOM. So far, $500 billion has been pumped into the project with the aim to transform Saudi Arabia’s economy.

This futuristic megacity is touted to be 33 times the size of New York City, will cover an area of 26,500 km square extending along the Aqaba Gulf and Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coastline. The megacity will be built using artificial intelligence and clean energy sources, and is set for completion by 2026. Neom claims to be a “blueprint for tomorrow in which humanity progresses without compromise to the health of the planet”.

Flying drone taxis, a Jurassic Park–style amusement park, and a giant artificial moon are the ambitious things planned for the city. An internal Neom ‘style catalog’ viewed by Bloomberg Businessweek includes elevators that somehow fly through the sky, an urban spaceport, and buildings shaped like a double helix, a falcon’s outstretched wings, and a flower in bloom.

His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Chairman of the NEOM Company Board of Directors, has announced the establishment of #TROJENA – the new global destination for mountain tourism, part of #NEOM's plan to support and develop the tourism sector in the region. pic.twitter.com/ZNa4JsamKy

— NEOM (@NEOM) March 3, 2022

Part of the NEOM Project is another clean energy destination called The Line, a city that spans a straight line. The Line is expected to be a belt of hyperconnected communities extending over a line that’s 105 miles (170 km) long, and will cost about $200 billion to construct.

More recently, the Crown Prince announced that the NEOM would also house TROJENA, an all-year-round ski village, a nearly two-mile man-made freshwater lake and a vertical village with a fusion of technology, entertainment and hospitality facilities. According to a press release, Trojena expects to attract 700,000 visitors and 7,000 permanent residents by 2030.

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“TROJENA will redefine mountain tourism for the world by creating a place based on the principles of ecotourism, highlighting our efforts to preserve nature and enhance the community’s quality of life, which is aligned with the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030,” the Saudi Crown Prince said in a statement.