The Saudi giga-project NEOM has secured SAR60 billion ($16 billion) in private sector funding and SAR30 billion ($8 billion) in loans as it tries to move away from reliance on government cash.  The revelation was made by deputy CEO Rayan Fayez to the Future Investment Initiative forum in Riyadh on Wednesday.

The sums totalled more than 60 billion riyals of private sector commitments and more than 30 billion riyals of debt funding across NEOM and the various projects.

Valued at around $500 billion, NEOM is the centrepiece of Saudi Arabia’s giga-projects, which aim to diversify the country’s economy away from a reliance on oil. The giga-projects are designed to transform a once closed, conservative country into a global leader in green technology and artificial intelligence.

Last week, NEOM welcomed visitors to its first project, the tourist island of Sindalah. 

Fayez said investors could rest assured that NEOM was using government money to complete its infrastructure and now widen its funding sources. 

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