Saudi Arabia to make ‘huge investments’ in Egypt to complete NEOM project: Crown prince

CAIRO – 26 July 2022: Saudi Arabia will make “huge investments” in Egypt to complete its $500 billion NEOM project, BBC cited Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as saying to the reporters on Tuesday.

NEOM is a Saudi city being constructed in Tabuk province in northern Saudi Arabia east of Egypt where it is slated to become a hub for smart city technologies and to serve as a tourist destination.

The project will cover an area of more than 26,000 square kilometers and will extend along the Red Sea coast.

In 2018, Egypt announced that it will contribute some land to the NEOM city project after the city was announced by bin Salman in 2017.

Within that initiative, Egypt would allocate more than 1,000 square kilometers of land to the project in the South Sinai governorate.

During his Tuesday remarks to the press, bin Salman said Saudi Arabia will heavily invest in Egypt to complete the NEOM project including in Sharm El-Sheikh city.

He added that NEOM project is likely to be listed by 2024.

NEOM is the first private zone to span Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan and to be funded by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, as well as local and international investors.

In 2018, Saudi Arabia and Egypt agreed on creating a $10 billion joint fund with the aim of developing a mega NEOM city in Egypt's Sinai. The mega-city, with its own judicial system and legislation is designed to attract international investors.

The first phase of the NEOM project is expected to end in 2025 while the project is expected to be completed within a period that extends to 50 years.

NEOM overlooks the Red Sea, one of the world’s most prominent economic arteries, through which nearly one tenth of the world’s trade flows; facilitating NEOM's rapid emergence as a global hub that has potential to bring together trade from Asia, Africa, Europe and America.

The mega city is set to transform the economy and society by introducing a raft of liberalizing reforms as planned by President Sisi and King Salman.

The city aims to embrace digital technologies and services to make it a major commercial location in the Middle East. Consequently, such development will be a major driver of tourism.