All about NEOM, Saudi Arabia’s futuristic megacity with no streets
You might have watched science fiction movies showing how future cities might look. With its futuristic megacity NEOM underway, it seems like Saudi Arabia is all set to make this fantasy come true soon! Here’s a snapshot of what this futuristic city has to offer to the world.
The $500 billion vision
Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, announced that NEOM is being constructed in the Tabuk province in northwest Saudi Arabia. The $500 billion city will cover 26,500 square kilometres of Saudi Arabia. Building this city is a part of the country’s ‘Vision 2030’ plan. Being constructed to reduce the country’s reliance on oil and boost the economy, NEOM will also focus on increasing public sector spending on health, education, infrastructure, leisure, and tourism.
NEOM: A snapshot of the future
NEOM is a combination of two words: ‘NEO’, which means ‘new’ in Greek and ‘M’, which signifies ‘Mostaqbal’ or ‘future’ in Arabic. This futuristic megacity is built on five main principles: Sustainability, community, nature, technology, and livability.
So, what all will be included in this city of the future? Well, NEOM is divided into three regions: The Line, Oxagon and Trojena. Let’s see what these three regions have to offer.
The Line will be a 170 km long and 200 metres wide eco-friendly, artificial intelligence-powered city. Interestingly, You will not see any cars, carbon emissions or streets. Everything here will be run on 100% renewable energy. Also, more than 90% of the land will be preserved for nature. It will strongly emphasise on key elements including walkability, livability, health, and wellness. Moreover, the city will have a high-speed rail and guess what, you will take only 20 minutes to complete a round trip around the metropolitan region.
Moving on to the Oxagon, a 7-km long region, is going to be the world's biggest floating industrial complex, composed of seven sectors:
- Sustainable energy
- Autonomous mobility
- Water innovation
- Sustainable food production
- Health and well-being
- Technology and digital manufacturing (including telecommunications, space technology and robotics)
- Modern methods of construction
The third and last region within NEOM is called Trojena. This mountain tourism destination will offer you year-round outdoor skiing, mountain biking, hiking, and water sports. You will experience various events in Trojena, which will be divided into seasons. These seasons include the Wellness Season (Sept-Nov), Winter Season (Dec-Mar), Adventure Season (Mar-May) and Lake Season (May-Sept).
New place, new regulations!
NEOM seems to be quite an exciting concept. But who will manage this city? Well, it would be regulated by an independent legal authority created by the investors. Also, NEOM will exist outside the boundaries of the current Saudi judicial system.
Fly around the world
NEOM will also have an international airport that will be 20.2 km2. 6,600 m long and 3,061 m wide. An interesting fact: 40% of the world will be just a four-hour flight journey from this city!