Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz received Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq in NEOM on Sunday.  The Sultan had arrived in the Kingdom on Sunday on a two-day official visit. He was received upon his arrival in NEOM by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.  The king welcomed Sultan Haitham and his delegation, while the sultan expressed his happiness to visit the Kingdom and meet King Salman.

During his visit, Prince Mohammed bin Salman accompanied Sultan Haitham on a tour of the NEOM Center for Knowledge Enrichment, where they reviewed the latest developments related to the NEOM project and its sectors.

Around 50 male and female students, recipients of the NEOM Scholarship Program, will begin their academic journey at American universities to obtain their bachelor degrees after completing their freshman year at Fahad Bin Sultan University in Tabuk Province.  Fahd bin Sultan University is one of the private universities and the first private university using English as a medium of instruction in Saudi Arabia.  

FBSU was established in the year 1424 H in the city of Tabuk with one college – the College of Computing. At the beginning of the academic year 1427 – 28 H a branch for girls was added and was followed by the addition of the two colleges of Engineering and Business and Management in 1428 – 29 H. 

Signed by Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al Faisal Al-Saud, President of the SAOC, and Nadhmi Al-Nasr, NEOM's chief executive, the agreement sets out plans for the two bodies to work together to help Saudi Arabia host major events and develop more world-class athletes.

A new initiative in NEOM and Tabuk is providing financial support and training to help people working in the local crafts sector develop their businesses.

Craft+ was launched this month by NEOM’s Social Responsibility Program and the Dulani Business Center, a key Social Development Bank program. It runs for two weeks with the aim of empowering and supporting home businesses and micro-enterprises, and providing development and training assistance to help local craftspeople improve the efficiency of their operations and contribute to the development and sustainability of business in the Kingdom. This is in line with the aims of the NEOM megacity project and Saudi Vision 2030.

The Shusha Island Coral Park will become a global center to showcase innovations to protect and restore coral reefs.

NEOM and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) said that the project that will cover 100 hectares on Shusha Island on the shores of the Red Sea.

The Shusha Island Coral Park will become a global center to showcase innovations to protect and restore coral reefs and accelerate conservation solutions, helping to reduce the effects of climate change, a statement issued by Saudi Press Agency said.

The project is scheduled to be completed in 2025, making NEOM a world leader in restoring and developing coral reefs.

Saudi Arabia mega project NEOM has highlighted the role of the Formula E World Championship in reinforcing sustainable innovation, promoting alternative energy solutions, contributing to the reduction of air pollution and combating climate change globally.

NEOM’s stance comes as the main partner of Mercedes EQ Formula E team and in partnership with the UN Environment Program campaign ‘#BeatAirPollution,’ which coincides with the seventh season of Formula E, and was on display during the eighth and ninth rounds in Mexico’s Puebla e-Prix this weekend.

Energy tech company Baker Hughes has been selected by industrial gases company, Air Products, to supply advanced hydrogen compression technology for the NEOM carbon-free hydrogen project in Saudi Arabia, it was announced on Wednesday.

In July 2020, Saudi companies NEOM and ACWA Power signed an agreement with Air Products to set up a $5 billion green hydrogen-based ammonia production facility powered by renewable energy in the kingdom.

Air Products and Baker Hughes said in a joint statement that they will embark on a “strategic global collaboration to develop next generation hydrogen compression to lower the cost of production and accelerate the adoption of hydrogen as a zero-carbon fuel.”

Up to 15 hotels a year will start operating between 2023 and 2025 with capacity to rise to accommodate 5 million visitors by 2030.

Saudi Arabia's $500 billion mega-city NEOM is planning to open the first of its hotels by the end of 2022 as it targets hosting about one million visitors by 2025 and 5m by 2030, its tourism chief said.

The futuristic city will open up to 15 hotels a year in the period between 2023 and 2025, before ramping up the pace to 20 to 30 hotels annually thereafter, Andrew McEvoy, sector head of tourism at NEOM, told The National during the Arabian Travel Market on Tuesday.

As economies worldwide slowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdowns, many governments have turned to infrastructure investments to stimulate sustainable and climate-friendly economic recovery.  Last year, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region accounted for 134 projects with a total value of $51.3 billion. The tally for the first quarter of 2021 stands at 61 projects with a total value of $49 billion with oil and gas, and power in the top-performing sectors.