NEOM, Saudi Arabia's Megaprojects Explained

The Explanation of Saudi Arabia's Megaprojects

Saudi Arabia's Megaprojects are sometimes in the first line of top News. You may have noticed that Saudi Arabia is on a bit of a megaproject building spree. From 175-kilometer linear cities to cubes large enough to hold twenty Empire State Buildings – the Middle Eastern country has been announcing record-shattering projects left, right, and center to pivot its economy and change its PR narrative – a narrative that’s seen many call into question its government and construction labor practices.

So why is Saudi Arabia trying to out-build the world? What is the purpose of all of Saudi Arabia's Megaprojects? Why is it pouring so many hundreds of billions into construction? And can all these projects amount to more than their glossy renders?

Another Dubai

Now, when this country’s economy is almost entirely dependent on oil that’s a problem – so Saudi Arabia is trying to diversify and fast; taking a leaf out of the Dubai handbook and trying to become a global magnet for tourism. In essence, it’s a strategy of “build it and they will come” – but build it big and with lots and lots of cash. In short, Saudi Arabia wants to do Dubai on a scale that even Dubai couldn’t dream of.

In other words, it is the goal of all of Saudi Arabia's megaprojects.

Public Investment Fund (PIF)

The country has set up the Public Investment Fund (PIF), a sovereign wealth fund that’s working to deliver all of these massive Saudi Arabia's megaprojects with state money. Whether you like it or not, anchoring new developments with headline-grabbing structures is proven to attract both domestic and foreign investment, and that creates a bigger market for trade, outside of oil.

In a bid for legitimacy, the PIF has signed up some of the world’s biggest architects and engineering firms, and taken out ads in The New York Times, Time Magazine, and on billboards around the world. In short, Saudi Arabia is trying to use construction for positive PR – and right now it needs some of that.

While these projects may appear bright and shiny on the outside, many have raised concerns over their environmental impact and the country’s history of poor construction labor practices. It’s hard to keep up with the pace of Saudi Arabia's megaproject announcements, so here are five of the biggest ones to be aware of.

Lesson one from Dubai: go big

And this building will be huge – designed as the centerpiece of what it’s claimed will be “the world's largest modern downtown”, in the middle of Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh. At 400-metres high by 400-metres wide it will be the world’s first supertall cube and if it’s successfully constructed, easily one of the largest structures ever built.

The problem with deep-plan buildings like this is getting natural light into the center of them and creating spaces that human beings want to inhabit – that’s where skylights and atriums come in. But light is not an issue here.

Inside will be a massive and ever-changing immersive screen wrapped around a tall central tower, creating a virtual world on the scale of Blade Runner. Overall there will be 100,000 residential units, some 9,000 hotel rooms, and more than 980,000 square meters of retail space.

The total cost of the project hasn’t been fully disclosed but it’ll likely be the budget of a 400-metre skyscraper – squared. That’s right: a ski resort in the desert. It’ll sit in the center of NEOM: a $500BN one of Saudi Arabia's Megaprojects that includes a few of the schemes that are provided in this article.

Technically in the desert, Trojena will be nestled up among some of the country’s highest peaks, approximately 2,600 meters above sea level. There’ll be a ski slope, a mountain biking course, luxury properties dubbed “slope residences”, a vertical village of restaurants and retail stores folded into a cavern, and an enormous manmade lake.

Trojena

Trojena has already officially won the bid to host the Asian Winter Games in 2029 – the first time that a winter sporting event will be held in an Arabic-speaking country. This resort will be nestled amongst the highest peaks in Saudi Arabia at approximately 2,600 meters above sea level.

It will feature a ski slope, a mountain biking course, luxury properties dubbed “slope residences”, a vertical village of restaurants and retail stores, as well as an enormous manmade lake. Trojena has already officially won the bid to host the Asian Winter Games for 2029, and construction is already underway.

So far, the price tag for Trojena is as impressive as the construction itself. But Saudi Arabia can afford it; Unlike the United States, whose government is facing a debt crisis, And whose households alone owe 16.9 trillion dollars - a record high.

This table shows the list of Saudi Arabia's megaprojects:

The second of Saudi Arabia's megaprojects

Now, let’s discover the next crazy megaproject. This will be the world’s largest floating structure – an immense port that’ll take advantage of its location near the Suez Canal to become a major shipping destination hub and the logistics nerve center for NEOM.

The entire mega port will be an octagon, with part of it floating out onto the Red Sea. Separating the two sections will be a huge shipping canal, complete with a cruise terminal and oceanographic research center. The floating sections of the port will be arranged around water-filled floating squares connected by smaller canals – a bit like Venice, just much hotter and without the architecture.

The whole thing is carefully positioned to set Saudi Arabia up as a diverse trading hub for the rest of the world. This is the closest project on this list nearing completion – and it is one ritzy airport.

Controversially designed by Foster + Partners, the Red Sea International Airport will open later this year and is expected to accommodate a million passengers a year by 2030. What makes this airport so luxurious?

Well, in a way, it’s trying to be the anti-airport airport. It’s trying to replace the stress-inducing hustle and bustle of normal international hubs with tranquil gardens and terminals that will house spas and restaurants – a pretty far cry from JFK.

The airport’s location 15 kilometers inland from the coast of the Red Sea puts it less than eight hours away from 80% of the world’s population and sets it up as a future Dubai or Singapore – cities that became truly international thanks to their geography and well-positioned airports.

The line

Then there’s another of Saudi Arabia's megaprojects that needs no introduction. The Line. A 500-meter tall mirrored linear city that’ll stretch for over 170 kilometers across the desert sands and that either represents the cutting edge of architecture or a grim dystopian future depending on who you ask. Also, part of NEOM, this architectural fever dream has been designed around the “15-minute city” concept and is pitched as a futuristic eco-development north of the Red Sea with no cars, streets, or carbon emissions.

The Saudi government says it will create housing for more than 9 Million people, and leaked documents reportedly show proposals for everything from robot maids to an artificial moon. To make construction slightly easier the massive project will be separated into 135 modules, each 800 metres long and 500 metres tall.

It certainly puts a line in the sand for engineering. If completed it would become far and away the biggest building mankind has ever constructed. Recent drone footage revealed that excavation work has actually begun and that foundation piles are being drilled into the desert. Currently, about 1M cubic meters of earth are being excavated every week at the marina site for the first module.

Here is also a video about one of Saudi Arabia's megaprojects which you can check out:

NEOM, located in the southwest of Saudi Arabia, stands as one of the nation's most ambitious and widely discussed endeavors. It is envisaged as a nucleus for cutting-edge technology and economic activity, with a vision of crafting a futuristic urban landscape. Here are several noteworthy initiatives intertwined with Saudi Arabia's megaprojects:

1. NEOM Bay: This expansive sector within the framework of Saudi Arabia's megaprojects encompasses stunning coastlines and a plethora of recreational amenities, making it a focal point of the project.
2. The Line: A revolutionary concept within Saudi Arabia's megaprojects, envisages a self-sustaining, car-free smart city stretching linearly along the Red Sea coast, embodying the essence of innovation and sustainability.
3. NEOM Industrial City: Planned as an integral component of Saudi Arabia's megaprojects, this industrial hub is primed to foster the growth of advanced technology sectors and champion sustainable manufacturing practices.

These examples underscore the pivotal role of Saudi Arabia's megaprojects in the nation's economic diversification efforts and its steadfast commitment to embracing innovation for future prosperity and development.

 

You can also check this to learn more about Saudi Arabia's Megaprojects.