[Neom City Contract Battle]③ 'Fantasy from 5 Years Ago Becomes Reality'... Also Hosting the Winter Olympics

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Wanyong] The ‘NEOM City’ project promoted by the Saudi Arabian government is a dream city ‘Utopia’ that realizes advanced technology and theories in reality. When it was first announced in 2017, it was considered an impossible fantasy.

They planned to build a city in northwest Saudi Arabia covering 26,500 km², 44 times the size of Seoul, and create a mild climate all year round using artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The unbelievable plans included flying cars in the sky, robot butlers in homes, robot dinosaurs in theme parks, and ski resorts outdoors.

Countries around the world criticized it as nonsense. Nevertheless, attention was drawn as a huge investment of 500 billion dollars (about 650 trillion won) was announced. Moreover, since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as the unofficial richest man in the world, was directly promoting the project, many companies rushed to Saudi Arabia to secure contracts. As of 2019, Crown Prince bin Salman’s personal wealth was reported to be 953.5 billion dollars.

However, no significant development news was heard for the next five years. Naturally, there were almost no construction orders. But since November last year, construction orders worth over 1 trillion won related to NEOM City began to be issued. Construction orders for energy development, port development, and high-speed rail tunnel development followed one after another. In July, Crown Prince bin Salman announced ‘The Line,’ a self-sufficient city and part of the NEOM City project, to the world from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s economic capital.

The perspective drawing of The Line depicted a building with mirrored exterior walls built on a barren desert. The buildings, 200 meters wide, 500 meters high, and 170 km long, face each other, forming the city. Saudi Arabia projected that 9 million people would reside there once the city is completed by 2030. NEOM’s promotional materials also unveiled plans for ‘Oxagon,’ an octagonal advanced industrial complex floating on the sea, and ‘Trojena,’ a large-scale eco-friendly mountain tourism complex.

At the announcement of The Line, Crown Prince bin Salman expressed confidence. He said, “The difference between NEOM and ordinary cities is as stark as the difference between an old Nokia phone and a sleek smartphone,” emphasizing, “I believe (NEOM) will become the best place to live on Earth.” He also responded to some criticisms that NEOM’s concept was unrealistic by asking, “We are starting from nothing, so why should we copy ordinary cities?”

Now, the world is gradually recognizing Crown Prince bin Salman’s confidence. On the 4th (local time), the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) held a general meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and finally decided NEOM City as the host of the 2029 Winter Asian Games. The OCA stated, “Saudi Arabia’s deserts and mountains will become the stage for winter sports.” It is the first time that a winter Olympics will be held in West Asia, a region covered by deserts. The OCA added that NEOM City was unanimously selected in the host city vote.