‎ Neom, Hejazi pronunciation:) is a planned cross-border city in the Tabuk Province of northwestern Saudi Arabia. It is planned to incorporate smart city technologies and also function as a tourist destination. The site is north of the Red Sea, east of Egypt across the Strait of Tiran, and south of Israel and JordanIt will cover a total area of 26,500 km2 (10,200 sq mi) and will extend 460 km along the coast of the Red Sea.

Saudi Arabia aims to complete the first section of Neom by 2025. The project has an estimated cost of $500 billion.On January 29, 2019, Saudi Arabia has announced setting up a closed joint-stock company named Neom with $500 billion. The aim of this company that is wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund, is to develop the economic zone of NeomThe project is planned to be totally powered by renewable energy sources Nadhmi Al-Nasr is the CEO of the Neom Joint-stock company.

Inauguration of the project

The city was announced by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 24, 2017. He said it will operate independently from the “existing governmental framework” with its own tax and labor laws and an "autonomous judicial system." Egypt announced in 2018 that it is contributing some land to the Neom project.

The initiative emerged from Saudi Vision 2030, a plan that seeks to reduce Saudi Arabia's dependence on oil, diversify its economy, and develop public service sectors. Plans call for robots to perform functions such as security, logistics, home delivery, and caregivingand for the city to be powered solely with wind and solar power.Because the city will be designed and constructed from scratch, other innovations in infrastructure and mobility have been suggested. Planning and construction will be initiated with $500 billion from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi  Arabia and international investors.The first phase of the project is scheduled for completion by 2025.[16]

In July 2020, the US’s Air Products & Chemicals Inc announced that it will build the world’s largest green hydrogen plant in Saudi Arabia. The US$5 billion project will be jointly owned by Air Products, Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power and Neom.

Name

The name "Neom" was constructed from two words. The first three letters form the Ancient Greek prefix νέο Neom- meaning “new”. The fourth letter is from the abbreviation of ‎, romanized: Mustaqbal, Hejazi pronunciation: [mʊsˈtagbal], the Arabic word for “future.”

Location

The Neom project[19] is located in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia in the northwest of the kingdom, extended along with Aqaba Gulf and 468 km of coastline with beaches and coral reefs, as well as mountains up to 2,500 m high, with a total area of around 26,500 sq. km.[21]

Inspiration

Aerial view in 2012 of the Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

Some of the illustrations for the Neom project were taken from the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, leaving commentators to note: "using an actual shot of Singapore to depict an upcoming construction project in Saudi Arabia is an odd choice."

Directors

Klaus Kleinfeld was announced as the inaugural director for the Neom project upon its launch by Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman on 24 October 2017.[24] In 2018, Kleinfeld signed Gladstone Place Partners LLC for "Communications Services" for the Neom project, for a fee of $199,500 plus expenses of $45,000.

On 3 July 2018, Kleinfeld was announced as the new advisor to Muhammad bin Salman from 1 August 2018 onwards. Nadhmi Al-Nasr would succeed him as the new Director of Neom from 1 August 2018.

Public relations

According to a US Justice Department filing under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), the Saudi mega-city developing firm NEOM Company hired American public relations and marketing consultancy, Edelman for assistance with public relations on the “smart-city” project. As per the three-month contract with the Chicago-based Edelman, Neom pays Edelman $75,000 per month through February, for international work done on behalf of the developing firm. Under the contract, the PR firm stated the provision of communications support in various sectors including, strategic counsel, stakeholder identification and engagement, media relations and content development. Neom and Edelman refused to comment on the deal. In the course of two years since 2019, Edelman counts as the fourth PR firm hired by Neom following BCW, Ruder Finn, and Teneo. Based on reports by human rights organisations, Saudi residents have pushed against the developments of Neom, which would require the resettlement of 20,000 residents, including the Bedouin tribe members. A tribesman was also alleged shot dead on refusing to give up his land, raising humanitarian concerns.

In July 2020, a sponsorship with the League of Legends European Championship gathered significant backlash from the professional League of Legends community, including athletes and the league's own staff. The backlash was centered around human rights abuses from the Saudi government, particularly its record on LGBT rights. As a result of the backlash, the sponsorship was cancelled within several hours of the announcement.