Neom

Neom (styled NEOM; Arabic: نيوم, romanized: Niyūm, Hejazi Arabic pronunciation: [nɪˈjo̞ːm]) is a new urban area planned by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to be built in its northwestern Tabuk Province. The site is north of the Red Sea, 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). The city's plans include multiple regions, including a floating industrial complex, global trade hub, tourist resorts and a linear city powered by renewable energy sources. It was launched in 2017 by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Developers intend for the majority of the city to be completed by 2039. Experts have expressed skepticism about the ambitions of the megaproject. Saudi Arabia originally aimed to complete major parts of the project by 2020, with an expansion completed in 2025, but then fell behind schedule. By July 2022, only two buildings had been constructed, and most of the project area remained bare desert. Neom's construction has also been criticised for environmental and human rights violations, with members of the local Howeitat tribe protesting their forced expulsion and expatriate employees describing abusive working conditions.

The project's estimated cost exceeds $500 billion. On January 29, 2019, the Saudi government announced that it had established a closed joint-stock company named Neom. The company is wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund and is solely dedicated to developing the economic zone of Neom.