The FIRST part of Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion Neom megacity will open to visitors this year, it has been revealed.
Luxury travelers will soon be able to experience the futuristic island resort of Sindalah in all its glory and stay in one of three grand hotels.
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The island, planned by Crown The prince Mohammed bin Salman, is one of the most ambitious urban developments in the Middle East.
Its planners have billed it as an “exclusive gateway to the stunning Red Sea”, suitable for big donors and the global yachting community.
Sindalah will be the first physical exhibit of Neom, an otherworldly gigacity launched in 2017 by Crown Prince Bin Salman in Tabuk.
Neom, meaning “new” future“, currently has more than 3,600 employees from 97 countries living and working in its facilities.
Once completed, the “smart city” will span an area of 26,500 km2, almost 17 times the size of London.
Neom revealed Sunday, at the end of a tour to court Chinese investors, that Sindalah will open to the public this year, according to Arab newsmeaning the island will be Neom’s first physical showcase.
The stunning resort will include a beach club, yacht club, spa and wellness centre, and 51 luxury retail establishments, as well as three opulent hotels with more than 400 rooms and 300 suites, and a large marina.
Conceptual photographs of the holiday destination showed modern villas with extraordinary sea views and lots of greenery.
The Saudi government’s focus on the luxury market is said to be an attempt to distinguish itself from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
Middle East expert Kristian Coates Ulrichsen told Business Insider: “The Saudis are increasingly pushing themselves into a high-end luxury market, which is what Sindalah and, to some extent, some of the other Red Sea projects “they’re going to attend.”
Saudi Arabia aims to attract between 100 and 150 million visitors by 2030 with the help of projects like Sindalah.
The island complex is one of the most realistic elements of Neom’s plans, which also include the side-mirror skyscraper The Line.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that plans for the 170 kilometer-long line, which was supposed to house 1.5 million residents, had to be drastically scaled back to a 2.4 kilometer building that will house 300,000.
Crown Prince Bin Salman hopes the Line will “shed light on alternative ways of living” and will be created from mirrored glass in Tabuk province, facing Egypt across the Red Sea.
Expert Dr Ulrichsen said Sindalah is “less ambitious in scope and scale” than The Line, which could mean it is more realistic to open first.
The realities of some of the trillion-dollar investments included in the Crown Prince’s Vision 2030 plan – of which Neom is the most expensive and ambitious project – are said to have caused some alarm at the highest level of the Saudi government. .
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