Inside Saudi Arabia's £1tn city of the future with world’s tallest skyscrapers and flying cars

Inside Saudi Arabia's £1tn city of the future with world’s tallest skyscrapers and flying cars

Inside Neom - the city of the future

NEOM/YouTube
George Bunn

By George Bunn


Published: 28/11/2023

- 14:57

Updated: 28/11/2023

- 20:52

However, human rights groups have criticised the actions of the Saudi government

A wide series of ambitious plans have been announced by Saudi Arabia over the last year.

It comes as the state aims to move away from its reliance on oil and become a tourist and commerce hotspot.



However, the government has come under criticism for alleged abuse of human rights.

The price of each project is not known but Saudi is set to spend more than $175billion every year on mega projects between 2025 and 2028 - with about $1.3trillion of major projects in the works.

A futuristic city

The Wall

Many of the mega projects have faced fierce criticism over human rights violations, including the $500billion Neom project where tribes were shoved out of their homeland, imprisoned or executed.

Authorities in the port city of Jeddah also demolished many houses to implement Saudi's development plans - with thousands of locals evicted illegally.

One of these includes Neom, a new city set to be located on the border with Jordan and Egypt that says it will start welcoming residents and businesses by 2025.

It is being "built from scratch", powered by solar and wind, will be 17 times the size of London and "a centre for the development of robotics".

A futuristic city

The Line complex

NEOM

The most striking thing about Neom is a mirrored megastructure called The Line - a 110-mile, 500m tall and 200m wide mirrored building that will connect Neom to the rest of the kingdom.

But campaigners say two towns have been cleared and 20,000 members of the Huwaitat tribe forcibly removed, without compensation, in order to build the megacity.

In September last year, three tribe members were allegedly executed for opposing eviction from the construction site.

Basyouni said Neom represents the "gulf between Mohammed bin Salman’s professed ‘vision’ of Saudi Arabia and the repressive reality of his rule".

A hotel in the canyon

The hotel complex of Leyja

NEOM

One of the other projects announced includes Leyja, a hotel complex carved into the walls of a giant canyon.

Directors of the project claim it will open its doors to tourists in 2024 - despite not being built yet.

It is reported to have three state-of-the-art hotels, with 120 luxurious rooms.

The retreat is said to have a high-tech, reflective facade mirroring the surrounding beauty and valley walls and rooftop infinity-style pools.

The costal city of Epicon

NEOM

The most recent of the announcements is the futuristic coastal city of Epicon.

The sky-high destination will be home to 41 hotels and luxury homes, offering 14 suites and hotel apartments.

Epicon is also set to offer a beach club, spas, an array of recreational activities and water sports.

A Saudi press agency spokesperson said: "Epicon’s guests and residents can expect a truly immersive and life-affirming experience."

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