- Farah - News Editor
Phase 2 of the construction of OXAGON, a planned floating industrial city and port being developed as part of Saudi Arabia’s NEOM, will start this year.
We like to keep up with news and events in NEOM, Saudi Arabia and the surrounding area. Here are some of the news sites we read regularly.
Phase 2 of the construction of OXAGON, a planned floating industrial city and port being developed as part of Saudi Arabia’s NEOM, will start this year.
Ever since NEOM was first announced in 2017, it has been a constant, personal distraction. It seems this is now a universal sentiment. Among journalists, the competition is intense to scoop every fantastical detail about the project in the largely uninhabited northwestern corner of Saudi Arabia. It’s the same among businesses: Foreign companies spent years buzzing about deals linked to the $500 billion ($1 trillion, $1.5 trillion?) gigaproject, although it looks like consultants were the ones who made off with the fat profits for their fancy slide decks.
The 2029 Asian Winter Games were initially planned to be hosted in TROJENA, a high-altitude resort in the Kingdom’s planned megacity of NEOM. It was meant to feature 30km of ski runs and artificial snow pumped from the Gulf of Aqaba, 200km away.
The meeting focused on reviewing diplomatic advancements and national development strategies. The Cabinet approved several significant international agreements to bolster foreign relations.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the engine driving the kingdom’s ambitious Vision 2030 economic transformation plan, slashed $8 billion in value from its five mega-projects as costs spiraled and oil prices dipped. The writedown, revealed in PIF’s 2024 annual report, comes as the kingdom’s flagship project, NEOM, is under review, with jobs and project scopes on the line.
Saudi Arabia is ramping up the adoption of smart technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and virtual reality across its tourism sector, aiming to redefine the visitor experience and support its broader economic diversification agenda.
Sarawak’s ambition to become a regional hub for green hydrogen received a major boost with a courtesy visit by ACWA Power Founder and Chairman, Mohammad Abunayyan, to Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, reaffirming the company’s strategic partnership with SEDC Energy (SEDCE).
Until we know the boundaries of life on Earth, it will be hard to decide whether extraterrestrial planets may have any living organisms," stated Sam Purkis, professor and department chair for the University of Miami's Department of Marine Geosciences.
As Saudi Arabia accelerates the pace of economic and urban transformation, Mofarreh Al Harbi & Partners continues to solidify its position as a strategic partner in delivering some of the kingdom’s most vital national projects under Vision 2030. In 2025, the company has reached a new level of operational maturity, transitioning from a traditional contractor to an integrated, multi-sector entity with a growing impact across infrastructure, sustainability, and investment.
Hyundai Motor Group’s hydrogen mobility trial in NEOM’s TROJENA showcases sustainable transport solutions, aligning with Saudi Vision 2030 and advancing global decarbonization through innovative hydrogen technology.
The Port of NEOM has successfully completed a pilot trial of a new intra-regional trade corridor connecting key logistics hubs in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, according to a report by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The initiative, implemented in partnership with the Logistics Private Sector Engagement Council, aims to provide an integrated, efficient, and competitive logistics solution, reducing transit time by over 50% compared to traditional routes.
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