Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised May 20, 2026

Neom

Neom is a megaproject in Tabuk Province in Saudi Arabia. It was launched in 2017 by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who was the driving force and hands-on chair behind the project. The project, which was heavily criticized for its unrealistic plans, human rights violations and environmental destruction, has been substantially scaled back after years of delays and cost overruns.

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May 20, 2026
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Neom
City
Official logo of Neom
Logo
Neom
Neom in Saudi Arabia
Coordinates: 28°07′52″N 34°55′15″E / 28.131088°N 34.920757°E / 28.131088; 34.920757
CountrySaudi Arabia
ProvinceTabuk
Announced24 October 2017 (2017-10-24)
Founded byMohammed bin Salman
Government
 • CEOAiman Al-Mudaifer1
Area
 • Total
26,500 km2 (10,200 sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+03 (Arabian Standard Time)
Websitewww.neom.com Edit this at Wikidata

Neom (Arabic: نيوم, romanized: Niyōm, Hejazi Arabic pronunciation: [nɪˈjo̞ːm], stylized as NEOM) is a megaproject in Tabuk Province in Saudi Arabia. It was launched in 2017 by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who was the driving force and hands-on chair behind the project.2 The project, which was heavily criticized for its unrealistic plans, human rights violations and environmental destruction, has been substantially scaled back after years of delays and cost overruns.3

The site is at the northern tip of the Red Sea, due east of Egypt across the Gulf of Aqaba and south of Jordan. The total planned area of Neom is 26,500 km2 (10,200 sq mi). Multiple regions are planned, including a floating industrial complex, global trade hub, tourist resorts, and a linear city powered by renewable energy sources.45 Thousands of people have been forcibly moved to make way for the project and villages have been razed.6

Much of the city was planned to be completed by 2030, as it is one of the focal points of Saudi Vision 2030.7 Experts expressed skepticism about the ambitions of the megaproject.8 Initially estimated to cost $1.6 trillion,2 the project's estimated costs were by 2025 in excess of $8.8 trillion (more than 25 times the annual Saudi budget).9 By July 2022, only two buildings had been constructed, and most of the project area remained bare desert.10 In 2024, Neom was reported to have been substantially scaled back from its original plan.911 An internal audit of the megaproject found extensive problems, including "evidence of deliberate manipulation", by the managers of the project.9 By 2025, new contracts for Neom dried up and there was no mention of Neom in Saudi Arabia's pre-budget statement for 2026.12 In March 2026, large contracts for tunneling work13 and the Trojena ski resort were cancelled.14

Neom's construction has been criticised for environmental and human rights violations, with expatriate employees describing abusive working conditions and members of the local Howeitat tribe protesting against their forced expulsion.1516 Around 20,000 people are expected to be forcibly relocated.17 Members of the Howeitat tribe have been killed resisting evictions, including Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti who was killed by Saudi security forces under disputed circumstances.18 Three other members of the tribe were also sentenced to death for resisting evictions.19

Etymology

Neom means "new future".20 The first three letters are the Greek prefix neo meaning "new", and the fourth letter, M, represents the Arabic word for "future" (Arabic: مستقبل, romanized: Mustaqbal, Hejazi Arabic pronunciation: [mʊsˈtaɡbal]).21

History

Salman announced plans for the planned city at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh on October 24, 2017.22 He said that it would operate independently from the "existing governmental framework" with its own tax and labour laws and an "autonomous judicial system".23 Egypt announced in 2018 that it would contribute some land to the Neom project.24

The initiative to create the region of Neom emerged from Saudi Vision 2030, a plan to reduce Saudi Arabia's dependence on oil, diversify its economy, and develop public-service sectors.25 According to project announcements, robots are expected to perform functions such as security, logistics, home delivery, and caregiving26 and for the region to be powered solely by renewable energy sources, including wind and solar power.23

On January 29, 2019, the Saudi government announced that it had established a closed joint-stock company named Neom. The company, which is solely dedicated to developing the economic zone of Neom, is wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, the Saudi government’s sovereign wealth fund.272829

Klaus Kleinfeld was announced by Mohammed bin Salman as the inaugural director for the Neom project upon its launch.30 Kleinfeld was then announced as an advisor to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Nadhmi Al-Nasr became the CEO of Neom.30

In July 2020, Neom, the American company Air Products & Chemicals, Inc., and Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power announced plans to build what was describes as the world's largest green hydrogen plant in Saudi Arabia, at Neom. Neom is an equal partner in the US$5 billion project.31

In 2023, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman respond to critics of the project, stating: "They say in a lot of projects that happen in Saudi Arabia, it can't be done, this is very ambitious. They can keep saying that. And we can keep proving them wrong."2 The Wall Street Journal reported that an internal audit of the gigaproject found "evidence of deliberate manipulation" of finances by "certain members of management." A Neom spokeswoman stated the WSJ was "incorrectly interpreting" and misrepresenting the figures.9 By 2025, few new contracts for Neom were reported, and the project was not mentioned in Saudi Arabia's pre-budget statement for 2026.12

In October 2024, an opening party for Sindalah, a luxury island destination, was held, the first in the Neom region.32 Following the event, Sindalah was reported by multiple outlets to have received only limited or invitation-only access and remained closed to the general public as of 2025, with its full operational status not confirmed in independent reporting.339 A few weeks after the opening party, Neom CEO Al-Nasr was succeeded by Aiman Al-Mudaifer, head of the Local Real Estate division at Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.1

According to former Neom employees, the working culture resembled Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Emperor’s New Clothes, with concerns that dissent was ignored or punished.2 According to the Financial Times, in 2025, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as chair of the project, proposed ambitious ideas that some staff expressed concerns about in terms of feasibility.2

Planned regions

Full list

Name Announced
The Line 10 January 202134
Oxagon 16 November 202135
Trojena 3 March 202236
Sindalah 5 December 202237
Magna regions38
Leyja 15 October 202339
Epicon 15 November 202340
Siranna 29 November 202341
Utamo 13 December 202342
Norlana 27 December 202343
Aquellum 10 January 202444
Zardun 24 January 202445
Xaynor 7 February 202446
Elanan 21 February 202447
Gidori 6 March 202448
Treyam 20 March 202449
Jaumur 8 May 202450

The Line

The region between the Red Sea and Tabuk, a view from ISS (2013 photo) source ↗

The Line (Arabic: ذا لاين) is a planned linear settlement under construction in Neom, Tabuk Province, Saudi Arabia, to be housed entirely in a single very long arcology.51 It is planned to be a smart city with no cars, streets or carbon emissions.5253 The project was conceived of by Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman, who was the hands-on chair of the project.54

The initial plan called for the city to span 170 kilometres (110 mi) at a height of 500 m (1,600 ft)55 and a width of 200 metres (660 ft), with the capacity to accommodate a population of 9 million (25% of Saudi Arabia's 2022 population of 35.5 million).56 The Line was planned to have an entirely glass mirror exterior,56 with all basic services within a five-minute walking distance.5758 The city is one of the five announced regions of Neom and is a part of Saudi Vision 2030 project.52

Neom Bay

Coast and islands, Neom peninsula (middle) source ↗

The development work of the project's first phase, Neom Bay, was planned to start in the first quarter of 2019 with completion by 2020.59 The developments were to include constructing the airport at Sharma, which would operate regular commercial flights between Riyadh and Neom.60 The plan of Neom Bay's developments also involves building the first residential area in Neom as part of Phase 1.61

Neom Bay Airport

In June 2019, it was announced that the Neom Bay Airport would begin commercial flight traffic after the first phase of the airport was completed with a runway length of 3,757 m (12,326 ft).626364 The first commercial flight was by Saudia from Riyadh.65 The planned airport has been registered by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) with the code NUM.63

Oxagon

Oxagon (originally named Neom Industrial City) was announced as a floating industrial complex in the shape of an octagon. According to the announcement, it will be located around 25 kilometres (16 mi) north of the town of Duba, and cover roughly 200–250 square kilometres (77–97 mi2) of land, of which approximately 40 square kilometres (15 mi2) will form the city.66 Oxagon is designed to focus on manufacturing, industrial research and development, incorporating the former Duba port, which has been renamed the "port of Neom".6768 The plans for the complex include a desalination plant, a hydrogen plant, and an oceanographic research center.6970 It will also be home to the cognitive multinational company Tonomus (originally NEOM Tech & Digital Company), which is the first subsidiary company to evolve from NEOM.717273

On 16 December 2022, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones and Neom signed a memorandum of understanding to facilitate collaboration and legislation in support of Neom's Future Factories Program.74

Trojena

On 3 March 2022, the Trojena project was launched, which will potentially be the first major outdoor skiing destination in the Arabian Peninsula. The project's site is about 50 kilometres (31 mi) from the Gulf of Aqaba coast in the Sarat Mountains, with elevations ranging from 1,500–2,600 metres (4,900–8,500 ft). Although it is in the desert, the site's climate is considerably cooler than is the rest of Neom's territory.757677787980 Ennismore, a lifestyle and hospitality company, was announced as the inaugural partner with its brands 25hours Hotels and Morgans Originals.8182 In September 2023, Zaha Hadid Architects designed a 330 m (1,080 ft) tall skyscraper for Trojena which will stand on a mountain overlooking an artificial lake. Renders of the skyscraper, which will be connected to the lakeside development by a cable car, showed a crystalline structure made of numerous columns that narrow towards the peak.83

Sindalah

In December 2022, Neom announced plans for Sindalah, an 1,100,000-cubic-yard luxury resort complex on an island off the Neom coast.84 It is planned to have an 86-berth marina and three luxury hotels, with a reported capacity of up to 2,400 visitors daily.8584 A nine-hole golf course overlooking the sea was constructed in 2023.9

Aquellum

In January 2024, Neom announced Aquellum, a "subterranean digitalized community of the future" that would "invert architectural principles to integrate with nature". Described as an "upside-down skyscraper", it is planned to be dug into a 450 m-high (1,480 ft) mountain, with access from an underwater square.86

Leyja

Leyja is a planned tourist destination which is designed to support the Saudi Vision 2030 plan for a sustainable tourism industry. According to the Saudi Press Agency, 95 per cent of Leyja's land area will be preserved for natural space.87 Leyja includes three Hotels which are the Adventure Hotel, designed by Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), Oasis Hotel, designed by Mario Cucinella Architects (MCA), and the Wellness Hotel, designed by Killa Design. The hotels will provide 120 boutique rooms and suites.88

Elanan

Announced on February 24, 2024, Elanan is a planned 80 room and suite ultra-luxury wellness retreat for guests to find "peace, rest, and rejuvenation" and is designed to blend with the surrounding nature with Mark Foster Gage as the project's architect.89

Agriculture

Neom plans for 6,500 hectares (16,000 acres) of the surrounding land to become agricultural fields and to rely heavily on genetically engineered crops.9091

Utilities

A subsidiary, ENOWA, has been founded to provide renewable energy, green hydrogen, and zero waste desalination.9293

International relations

In March 2020, Neom signed a partnership deal as a principal partner with Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team.94 In June 2022, Neom became the title sponsor of McLaren Racing's electric motorsport division as NEOM McLaren Electric Racing, with McLaren's Formula E and Extreme E teams renamed as NEOM McLaren Formula E Team and NEOM McLaren Extreme E Team, respectively.95 Following McLaren's exit from Formula E and Extreme E, Neom continued their partnership by sponsoring McLaren's F1 Academy entrants for the 2026 season, including being the title sponsor of McLaren's second entrant as McLaren Oxagon.9697

In March 2021, Neom signed a four-year global sponsorship agreement with the Asian Football Confederation.98

In 2022, Neom hosted Extreme E's 2022 Desert X-Prix and held the naming rights to the series' Island X-Prix in Sardinia.99100 In May 2022, Indian conglomerate Larsen & Toubro was awarded the contract for construction of a 2,930-megawatt solar power generation plant, a 1,370-megawatt wind-power farm, a 400-megawatt battery energy storage system, and a power transmission network of about 190 km (120 mi).101

After opening its first international office in London in November 2023, Neom opened its second one in New York in February 2024.102

Suggestion of Israeli cooperation

Despite historically antagonistic relations, Israel is speculated to play a significant role in the development of NEOM, with some suggesting that Saudi Arabia may be expressing an interest in Israeli intellectual capabilities for this purpose. It is also suggested that Israel has reciprocated this interest. In line with this, Saudi Arabia is reported to hope to establish an economic partnership with Israel to promote the economic development of NEOM. In particular, analysts suggest that Saudi Arabia may be interested in enhancing economic relations with high-tech industries in Israel, which are essential for the technological vision of NEOM. According to a report in an Israeli newspaper, there is purportedly evidence of coordination between Arab businessmen and diplomats in Tel Aviv, with companies in Israel said to be prepared to secure contracts worth billions of dollars. The Saudi Arabian government is also reportedly involved in such communications. Consequently, analysts have proposed that NEOM could serve as a potential impetus for normalisation between Saudi Arabia and Israel.103104

Controversies

High mortality rates

Researchers documented alarmingly high mortality rates among migrant workers from India, Bangladesh, and Nepal employed on Saudi construction projects, including Neom. Government sources show that 70–80% of worker deaths are officially classified as "natural causes", but investigations reveal many workers actually collapsed at their workplaces before dying.105 A 2024 ITV documentary reported approximately 21,000 foreign worker deaths since construction began in 2017, with an additional 100,000 workers reported missing.106107 This information pertains to the construction projects of "Saudi Vision 2030", which includes NEOM.108

Workers report extreme conditions including 16-hour workdays for 14 consecutive days in temperatures reaching 50°C. Many describe feeling like "trapped slaves", with some required to pay fines equivalent to five months' salary to leave their positions.105 Researchers collected information about migrant workers' deaths from Indian, Bangladeshi, and Nepali government sources. Across nationalities the large majority of deaths of workers were attributed to "natural causes", which accounted for 74 percent of 1,420 Indian migrant worker deaths recorded just at the Indian embassy in Riyadh in 2023; 80 percent of 887 Bangladeshi deaths during the first 6 months of 2024, and 68 percent of 870 Nepali migrant worker deaths from 2019 to 2022. At least 13,685 Bangladeshis died in Saudi Arabia between 2008 and 2022, according to records kept by the Bangladeshi government. More than 1,500 Bangladeshis died in 2022 alone, a rate of more than four a day.109 Approximately 20 percent of Neom workers are from Bangladesh. Five of the nine cases Human Rights Watch documented of deaths that official documents classify as nonwork related, including by "natural causes", involved workers who collapsed at their workplace and later died, their families said.105107110111

Abusive work culture

In 2022, former employees reported NEOM project CEO Nadhmi Al-Nasr for promoting a management culture that "belittled expatriates, made unrealistic demands, and neglected discrimination in the workplace".21112 The resignation letter of a former chief executive, Andrew Wirth, accused Nasr's leadership of being "consistently inclusive of disparagement and inappropriately dismissive and demeaning outbursts".112 Nasr, appointed by Prince Mohammed with the responsibility to lead NEOM, was accused in his tenure of berating and scaring his employees, as confirmed by present and former staff members.113 Two gigaprojects under the Saudi Vision 2030 were merged in 2022, while the remaining three projects lost their expatriate chief executives and turned over the senior management.112

The Saudi government refused to comment, while Neom declined to make Nasr available for answers or interview requests. However, Neom issued a written statement in defense of Nasr and the management culture at the megaproject, asserting that Neom represented "a scale and ambition the world has never seen before" and that it continued to retain and attract more talent because "employees are passionate about what they do and deeply committed to living up to, and delivering on, the Neom vision".114

Anthony Harris, a former director of innovation at Neom's education team, accused the crown prince Mohammed bin Salman of fostering a faulty workplace culture since "Nadhmi takes his cue from his boss, and everyone else at Neom takes their cue from Nadhmi."112 At one company meeting, Nasr said on record, "I drive everybody like a slave, when they drop down dead, I celebrate. That's how I do my projects."112 He also threatened to replace employees stuck in other countries during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in 2020, which included the former director of branding and marketing.112

In late 2018, Neom's progress suffered after the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi.115 Advisers to Neom, including Daniel L. Doctoroff116 and architect Norman Foster, were reported to have distanced themselves from the project and the "toxic" Saudi crown prince.117

Evictions and executions

It is estimated that 20,000 people will be forced to relocate to accommodate the planned city.17 The Howeitat tribe, who are native to the area, have said that they do not oppose the city but would rather not face forced expulsion and violence.18 On 13 April 2020, activist Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti posted videos online announcing that Saudi security forces were trying to evict him and other members of the Howeitat tribe from their historical homeland to make way for the development of Neom.2118

In the videos, Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti said that he would defy the eviction orders, although he expected that Saudi authorities would plant weapons in his house to incriminate him.118 He was later shot and killed by Saudi security forces, who claimed he had opened fire on them.118 London-based human rights activist and fellow Howeitat tribe member Alya Alhwaiti disputed this version of events, stating that al-Huwaiti did not own firearms.18

al-Huwaiti's funeral was held near the village of al-Khoraibah and was well attended despite the presence of Saudi security forces.18 Eight cousins of al-Huwaiti have been arrested for protesting against the eviction order, but Alhwaiti has said that she and other human rights activists hoped to challenge the arrests.18

In June 2020, Salman signed a $1.7 million contract with American public-relations and lobbying firm Ruder Finn to counter the criticism and controversies involving the Neom city project.119 In November 2020, British lawyers representing the Howeitat tribe urged Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to boycott the G20 Summit in Saudi Arabia, arguing that the United Kingdom has a moral imperative to take a stand in defense of the tribe and confront Saudi Arabia over its human-rights issues.120

In October 2022, the Specialized Criminal Court of Saudi Arabia sentenced three members of the Howeitat tribe to death for resisting displacement.19 The three men were arrested in 2020 for opposing the eviction of their tribe for the project. One of the condemned men, Shadli al-Howeiti, was the brother of Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti.121 In May 2024, a former intelligence officer for Saudi Arabia named Col. Rabih Alenezi claimed that Saudi authorities have permitted the use of lethal force to clear land for Neom and he was ordered to shoot a villager for refusing to be evicted.122

Surveillance

Designers of The Line announced plans to use data as a currency to manage and provide facilities such as power, waste, water, healthcare, transport and security.123124 It was said that data would also be collected from the smartphones of the residents, their homes, facial recognition cameras and multiple other sensors. According to Joseph Bradley, the chief executive of Neom Tech & Digital Co., the data sweep would help developers feed the collected information to the city for further predicting and customizing every user's needs.123

However, Saudi Arabia's poor human rights record125 and use of espionage126 and surveillance technology for spying on its citizens127 emerged as a roadblock, according to digital rights experts. Vincent Mosco, a researcher into the social effects of technology, stated that "the surveillance concerns are justified" while further adding that "it is, in effect, a surveillance city".123 The Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology did not respond to digital rights experts and researchers' requests for comments.123

Viability and concept

The project has been critiqued as a "laboratory of false solutions" in the sense that carbon capture and storage (CCS), green hydrogen, and carbon-offsetting are said by their critics to be self-serving panaceas backed by the fossil fuel industry which do not work at scale.128

In October 2022, Neom was announced as the host of the 2029 Asian Winter Games, a decision that received criticism concerning its adverse environmental impact.129 Amidst increasing global-warming concerns, the project drew multiple points of concern, including the expected high temperatures in the desert land, the energy impact, and detour of local water resources to the construction of artificial ski slopes from scratch. Raphael Le Magoariec, a political scientist and specialist in the geopolitics of sports in the Persian Gulf region said that Riyadh "mainly wants to promote its city of the future".129 International Ski and Snowboard Federation secretary general Michel Vion expressed surprise at the decision of the Olympic Council of Asia and Olympic downhill silver medalist Johan Clarey said, "it is awful for our sport."129 In 2026, Kazakhstan replaced Neom as the host the 2029 Asian Winter Games, as plans to build the Neom ski resort were scaled back.130

Furthermore Salman's vision for the city includes such fanciful technologies as flying cars, robot maids, dinosaur robots, and even a giant artificial moon.131 Former managers and executives involved in the Neom megaproject have said that the project's projections are completely unrealistic and that some of them refused to sign off on plans. Dissenters and skeptics have been removed from Neom-related projects.9

Internal audit

In March 2025, the Wall Street Journal reported on an internal audit of the Neom megaproject wherein it was found that executives, aided by McKinsey & Company, had relied on unrealistically rosy assumptions to justify cost overruns.9 The audit found "evidence of deliberate manipulation" of finances by "certain members of management".9 McKinsey's fees have reached $130 million in a single year.9

See also

See also

References

References

  1. "Saudi Arabia's Neom boss sacked following budget concerns". The Times. 12 November 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  2. Killing, Allison (6 November 2025). "End of The Line: how Saudi Arabia's Neom dream unravelled". Financial Times.
  3. England, Andrew; Campbell, Chris (25 January 2026). "Saudi Arabia to scale back Neom megaproject". Financial Times.
  4. Avery, Dan (26 January 2021). "Saudi Arabia Building 100-Mile-Long "Linear" City". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
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