First phase of NEOM’s city starts construction on Red Sea coast

Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion NEOM mega-project is getting off the ground.

Speaking at the Public Investment Fund’s Private Sector Forum in Riyadh, NEOM Chief Development Officer Denis Hickey said on Friday that the first phase of its 170 kilometer-long city, The Line, will be built at the Hidden Marina site on the kingdom’s Red Sea coast.

The first segment of the project will stretch 2.5 kilometers in length and rise 500 meters high.

It is expected to accommodate over 200,000 residents in 80,000 residential units, with 9,000 hotel rooms, as well as commercial and retail spaces, fire stations, schools, police and security services.

Abu Dhabi plants 850,000 mangrove trees to mark COP28

Abu Dhabi has planted 850,000 mangrove trees along the emirate’s coastal areas as part of its Ghars Al Emarat initiative to mark last year’s COP28 climate summit.

The project committed to planting 10 mangroves for each of the 85,000 visitors to the two-week United Nations conference in December that took place at the Expo City Dubai, according to a statement issued Monday.

Mangroves are hardy shrub-like trees that form dense thickets and adapt to growing in coastal saline waters.

They are a popular tourist attraction in Abu Dhabi, where kayaks, canoes and paddle boats are available for rental to let visitors explore mangrove wetlands that have become habitats for flamingos, crabs and turtles.

Saudi Arabia’s NEOM opens U.S. headquarters in New York City

Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion NEOM project, which is trying to reinvent the urban landscape almost from scratch, has placed its U.S. headquarters smack in the middle of New York City.

The office in New York’s Hudson Yards on the Manhattan waterfront will enable NEOM’s managers to connect with Wall Street, drawing investors, industry leaders and candidates for executive posts. NEOM’S The Line, a futuristic city-in-the-making parallel to the Red Sea coast, and its luxury Trojena ski resort in the Tabuk mountains, aim to rewrite rules of engineering and conceptions of what is possible in the desert kingdom.

Princess Reema bint Bandar, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the U.S., formally opened the office on Tuesday, calling NEOM, “an inspiration for ambitious projects around the world, as it represents a unique model for future cities.”