Saudi Arabia Plans $500 Billion Mega City And Reveals Robot Citizen

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced plans on Tuesday to build a new mega city on the Red Sea coast in Saudi Arabia. Once complete, the project will stretch between Egypt and Jordan across 26,500 km2 and be independent from the existing Saudi governmental framework. Both national and international public and private investors will inject $500 billion into the city, to be named NEOM.

The mega city will be run entirely on clean and recyclable energy. “All of this will allow for a new way of life to emerge that takes into account the ambitions and outlooks of humankind paired with best future technologies and outstanding economic prospects,” said Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a press release.

NEOM will be the first private zone to span three countries, a concept adopted from Dubai, where such zones are exempt from tariffs and have the freedom to create their own laws and regulations. This will help to attract new foreign investment, contributing to the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s long-term strategy to strengthen the Saudi Arabian economy.

“NEOM will focus on nine specialized investment sectors and living conditions that will drive the future of human civilization, energy and water, mobility, biotech, food, technological & digital sciences, advanced manufacturing, media, and entertainment with livability as its foundation,” added the Prince.

There are already talks on making the mega city the most ideal place to live in the world by attracting high-caliber human resources, and placing repetitive and manual jobs in the hands of robots.

Saudi Arabia’s latest announcements showcase its commitment to a new post-oil era, stimulating economic growth through tourism, innovative technology, education, health and infrastructure. The Kingdom’s future ambitions are predicted to help increase government non-oil revenue from $43.4 billion to $266.6 billion annually.