The first batch of students under the “NEOM Scholarship Program ending in employment” will embark on their educational journey earlier this week.  The 15-member batch, including six girls, will set out to the United States, to pursue their studies in several specializations including tourism, hospitality, archeology and heritage.

They were picked from among more than 300 students who had applied for the first phase of the scholarship program. This is within the program launched by the NEOM Company, which has a plan to send 250 most talented male and female students from the local community over the coming five years.  NEOM Co. has chosen these students from the regions of NEOM, Duba and Haql through a registration and admission process that started in July 2019.

Saudi Arabia is one of the UK’s major trading partners in the Middle East, and its Vision 2030 plan to help it diversify away from dependence on oil includes major building projects. So is the kingdom a good place for UK construction firms to do business? In general terms and subject to regional stability, the picture is positive.  There are a variety of other impressive projects in the pipeline, including the Riyadh Metro, medical facilities, and solar and wind projects.

So we've been travelling around ths last few weeks talking to people involved in NEOM and trying to get in to the construction area itself to get some photos and maybe an interview. Not possible.

We are back next week so will keep updating you with NEOM news and work on getting the directory launched. There's been a lot of interest from all over the world - some large companies as well!

See you all soon

The NEOM News team

A major step in getting NEOM ready for launch.  

The new airport serving Saudi Arabia’s planned $500 billion mega-city Neom has been classified as a commercial hub by the aviation industry body International Air Transport Association.

“Iata announces Neom Bay Airport is now officially a commercial airport with over 2,500 passenger boardings each calendar year,” Saudi Projects said on Twitter.

Saudi Arabia said it will start building the first residential area in a proposed $500 billion futuristic city that’s become a symbol of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitions for life after oil.

Critics have questioned the mega-project after previous efforts to build industrial and financial cities have struggled to take off. Construction of the $10 billion King Abdullah Financial District in north Riyadh began in 2006 but the 73-building hub remains unfinished.