NEOM teams up on $187 million cement factories to build The Line

Saudi Arabia is taking concrete steps to accelerate construction of The Line, its planned trillion-dollar city of the future.

NEOM, which runs the project and surrounding development of the kingdom’s Red Sea coast, signed a partnership agreement with a Saudi construction company to build cement factories costing $187 million that will be used for the structure, which is planned to extend 110 miles across the desert.

The manufacturing facilities, which begin operations in November, will use carbon capture technology and a range of energy-saving innovations, NEOM CEO Nadhmi Al-Nasr told the Saudi Press Agency.

He said the deal illustrates “the critical role local partnerships play in delivering this transformational project efficiently and sustainably.”

New Zealand, UAE reach terms for signing free-trade pact

New Zealand and the UAE have reached a free-trade agreement after four months of negotiations.

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement will eliminate duties on as much as 99% of New Zealand’s exports to the Gulf state, according to Trade Minister Todd McClay.

“This will create new opportunities for New Zealand businesses in the dynamic UAE market, contributing to our ambitious target of doubling exports by value in 10 years,” McClay said in a statement issued on Thursday.

Trade between the two countries reached $814 million for the year ending June 2024, he said.