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Saudi Arabia Is Planning the World's Largest Skyscrapers in Neom

posted on: Aug 3, 2022

(Photo Credit: luxurylaunches.com)

By: Kimothy Wong / Arab America Contributing Writer

According to those acquainted with the topic, Saudi Arabia is preparing the world’s largest skyscrapers in a primarily unpopulated portion of the nation as part of a new US$500 billion development called Neom.

According to Bloomberg, buildings will reach from the Red Sea coast deep into the desert, featuring a variety of residential, office, and retail spaces, according to people currently and recently employed by the NEOM project.

The structures will stretch for tens of miles horizontally down the ground as part of ‘the Line,’ a 170-kilometer-long (100-mile) city constructed in a perfectly straight line, particularly for pedestrians, which is part of the bigger NEOM megacity in Saudi Arabia’s northwestern Tabuk region.

Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince and de facto ruler created Neom (Photo Credit: scmp)

The NEOM project, sponsored mainly by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is expected to create a technologically advanced and environmentally sustainable megacity that will attract investment and enterprises worldwide.

It is intended to be a futuristic project with technologies such as flying taxis, an artificial moon, and classes taught by holographic teachers.

It is 33 times the size of New York. The city is still under construction, with only officials, workers, and planners living there, but the authorities hope to welcome inhabitants in 2024 and have millions of “Neomians” living there by 2030.

The fact that it will house the world’s highest buildings makes it an even larger project, as it will dwarf the present tallest artificial structure, Dubai’s 828-meter-high Burj Khalifa. The world’s fourth-tallest building, the 601-meter-tall Abraj Al-Bait clock tower hotel in Makkah, is now in the Kingdom.

NEOM CEO Nadhmi Al-Nasr(Photo Credit: Arabian Business)

“The Line is an out-of-the-box idea,” NEOM CEO Nadhmi Al-Nasr told Bloomberg, adding without specifying that “what we will deliver when we are ready to, will be highly accepted, and will be considered as innovative.”

According to Al-Nasr, the tall buildings will be “varying heights as you walk,” according to the scenery and topography.

Will NEOM Be Treated as A Country Within A Country?

According to Andrew McEvoy, the CEO of NEOM’s tourist sector, residents of the $500 billion Red Sea project will be referred to as “Neomians” rather than Saudis, and alcohol will be offered there.

NEOM is an acronym for “New Evolution of “that would be handled as if it were a country within a country, complete with its economic zone and government. We must ensure that its laws and regulations align with the goals of those we hope to recruit to work and live here.” McEvoy said.

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia denied claims made by the president of its futuristic metropolis, NEOM, that the city will operate under separate rules from the rest of the conservative monarchy, acting as a “country inside a nation.”

The firm behind NEOM denied his claims, saying the city “is completely subject to the sovereignty and systems of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

In terms of security, defense, and border protection, it will adhere to the same standards as the rest of Saudi Arabia. NEOM, on the other hand, “will have some specific investment laws… as part of its strategy as part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.”

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