Photo: neom website
Saudi Arabia's visionary mega-city project, NEOM, has unveiled its first tangible showcase: a luxurious Red Sea island named Sindalah. This island, featuring upscale restaurants, hotels, and yachting facilities, was announced on Sunday. The launch of Sindalah occurs amidst ongoing skepticism about NEOM's feasibility and just before the commencement of a significant investor forum, often dubbed 'Davos in the Desert,' which starts in Riyadh on Tuesday.
"NEOM is dedicated to advancing the Kingdom's new era of luxury tourism, with the debut of Sindalah," stated Nadhmi al-Nasr, the chief executive, in a press release. "This inaugural destination provides visitors with a 'first look' at what the future holds for our expansive portfolio of destinations and developments." Sindalah spans 840,000 square meters (200 acres) and is projected to accommodate up to 2,400 guests daily by 2028, according to the release.
NEOM is most recognized for The Line, a pair of 170-kilometer-long mirrored skyscrapers extending inland from the coast. When unveiled in 2022, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman predicted that The Line's population would surpass one million by 2030 and reach nine million by 2045. However, Bloomberg reported earlier this year that revised estimates suggest only 300,000 people will reside in The Line by the end of the decade, with just 2.4 kilometers of the project completed by then.
Construction on NEOM continues alongside other major initiatives launched under Vision 2030, Prince Mohammed's strategy to transition the world's largest oil exporter into a post-oil era. Last year, the Gulf kingdom became the sole bidder for hosting the 2034 football World Cup, giving it a decade to construct necessary stadiums and enhance lodging and transportation capacities. In December, Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan announced that officials had extended the timelines for certain major projects beyond 2030, though specific projects were not detailed.
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