Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy will participate in the development of NEOM to ensure its timely completion, offering “assistance” in the city’s grand development plans, according to Reuters, which cited comments from the Minister.
“We have to persevere and make all our capacities available to realize this project,” Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman told a press conference at a signing ceremony of a cooperation agreement between the ministry and NEOM, which was broadcast on Al-Arabiya TV channel.
Neom, the kingdom’s $500 billion city of the future is beginning to develop on Saudi Arabia’s northwest coast near Egypt on the Red Sea.
NEOM is being billed as a planned regional silicon valley and futuristic tourism destination. A key part of the NEOM mix is renewable energy. The city’s CEO, Nadhmi al-Nasr, “said the city will rely totally on renewable power, including solar, wind and hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources,” Reuters reports.
Grand plans for NEOM, first announced in 2017, are starting to become real.
In October 2018, Saudi Arabia created a high-profile global advisory board for NEOM, and in January 2019, the Kingdom set up a new company – owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund – to manage NEOM’s development, and authorities said NEOM would create 16 key economic areas, including energy, manufacturing and tourism.
NEOM is located in the Northwest corner of Saudi Arabia.
In July, U.S. corporation Air Products and Chemicals signed an accord with Saudi-based ACWA Power International and the kingdom’s planned futuristic city of NEOM to develop a $5 billion hydrogen-based ammonia plant powered by renewable energy, according to reports. The renewable-energy powered plant will produce ammonia for export, and is scheduled to begin operating in 2025.
Earlier this month, city planners awarded a contract to U.S.-based Bechtel for executive project management work on the development of the primary, base infrastructure for NEOM. Developers have already started working on the basic infrastructure for the new-from-scratch city, including a new airport.
NEOM, where King Salman is currently recovering from a recent successful surgery, has been the choice destination for the King for his Summer holiday two years in a row.
