"Although oil and gas are essential pillars of our economy, we have begun expanding our investments into additional sectors. Diversifying our economy is vital for its sustainability". Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman made this statement in 2016, while unveiling Vision 2030, an ambitious strategic framework to diversify the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's economy. 

The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Jeddah became the country's first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified building in 2009. Today, Saudi Arabia accounts for 15% of green building projects in the Arab world, including the highest concentration of gold and platinum LEED-certified buildings.

America’s largest design engineering firm, Aecom, has been appointed to handle the design and support of the “backbone infrastructure” for Saudi Arabia’s NEOM.   Aecom’s President, Lara Poloni, commented on the contract, saying: “We are excited to be playing such a pivotal part in delivering one of the world’s largest and most complex infrastructure projects”.

She then went on to say: “As the centerpiece of Saudi Vision 2030, NEOM will become one of the world’s leading destinations to attract talent and investment and drive economic change in the Kingdom.”

“Our global multi-disciplinary team of experts will bring together a diverse set of skills to deliver a sustainable project that will connect communities and create thousands of jobs across Saudi Arabia.”

NEOM has selected Bechtel to accelerate primary infrastructure development for its Cognitive Cities. It has awarded a contract to the U.S.-based global industry leader for executive project management work.

Saudi Arabia is building the crossborder city NEOM, a US$500 billion futuristic mega-project deep in a desert bordering the Red Sea — the Kingdom says “it will be 33 times the size of New York City with plans for flying cars and robot dinosaurs”, according to a report in Business Insider.  Besides Bechtel, Aecom, SNC Lavalin are also in the US$500 billion project.

“Blueprints obtained by the Wall Street Journal detail wild plans for artificial rain, a fake moon, robotic maids, and holographic teachers. Phase one is due for completion in 2020, with the final brick laid in 2025.”

Tech experts have proposed creating a new artificial intelligence ‘centre of excellence’ in the Middle East to capitalise on an anticipated $300bn boom in the emerging industry.  Dr. Jassim Haji, president of the Artificial Intelligence Society Bahrain, predicted that new AI-based roles will begin appearing within the next year amid a regional surge in the use of automation.  

It comes after international audit firm PwC predicted that the AI sector will contribute $300bn to the Middle East economy by 2030, fueled by mega-projects and a new wave of innovation.

A $500-billion smart city. A $200-billion solar farm. Billions of dollars in investments in gas and petrochemicals. These were all facets of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 - perhaps the most ambitious economic diversification in the world. Now, that ambition is in tatters. Can Saudi Arabia pick up the pieces and truly diversify its economy away from oil, or are its plans dead in the water, leaving the Kingdom’s survival forever tied to oil revenues?

NEOM Company has opened registration for the second batch of students for its distinguished foreign scholarship program ending in employment in various sectors of the Kingdom’s ambitious giant smart city project. Registration would continue for a week for the brightest young men and women from the local community in the NEOM project zones in the northern Tabuk region.

Fifty distinguished male and female students will be chosen in the second batch of the program this year. They will be offered scholarships with an opportunity to pursue studies in the most prestigious universities in the world in order to empower them with developing their expertise and skills required for future jobs in NEOM’s 16 core sectors.

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the chief executive officer of NEOM, Eng Nadhmi Al-Nasr to enhance coordination and cooperation between the two sides in the fields of energy.

The MoU also includes enhanced cooperation in terms of renewable energy, green hydrogen production, application of a circular carbon economy, enhancing local content, innovation and development, and the development and application of artificial intelligence in the energy sector.

The Leaders Development Institute (LDI) has signed a partnership agreement with NEOM — the joint stock company developing the NEOM economic zone — to promote sporting activities in the planned smart city, in accordance with the directives of Sports Minister Prince Abdul Aziz bin Turki Al-Faisal. 

LDI will act as sports adviser to NEOM and help it design and activate plans for sporting activities, which will be aimed at both eager amateurs and aspiring professionals. NEOM’s aim is to become “an international hub for sports” with cutting-edge facilities to host “the world’s biggest sporting events.”