Saudi Arabia officially introduced the utopian city NEOM, which will be built in the desert in the northwest of the country, the previous day. The “city of the future”, which will be established across the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh and will consist of 10 regions, will open in 2040.
According to an interview with the General Manager of NEOM Project, Giles Penderton, to the UAE newspaper The National, 9 million people will live in the city, which is claimed to cost trillions of dollars, by 2045. NEOM, which will be the first and only “zero-carbon” city in the history of humanity, will not disappear: artificial lakes, artificial sea, beaches, flying taxis, robot waiters, ski resorts… Hold on tight, there is even an “artificial Moon” in NEOM. will be.
160-kilometer 'transverse skyscraper' will be built
The name of one of NEOM's 10 regions that will completely change people's understanding of tourism is “The Line”. According to Business Insider magazine, “The Line” will be a 160-kilometer-long “transverse skyscraper” that will be built in the middle of the desert. According to the claim, the information of everyone living in the city will be collected in a data center.
According to the needs of the people and their lifestyle, the city administration will be able to offer services to the residents. For example, ski lovers will be informed about the latest developments in the ski resort, while restaurant opportunities will be offered to those who want to dine against the artificial full moon that will be ready 24/7.
"NEOM, the Crown Prince's big dream"
NEOM is the biggest dream of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is trying to modernize his country and has changed many rules especially for women to participate in social life over the years… Marwa Fatafta from German digital rights NGO Access Now describes NEOM as follows: The city is the big ticket for someone who celebrates himself as the Saudi leader 'modernizing the country' and 'taking it into a new technological era'."
James Shires, from London think tank Chatham House, also describes the crown prince's passion: "He envisions a city where services ranging from garbage collection to health to train times are orchestrated with data from sources like smartphones and surveillance technology. NEOM is designed to take [other smart cities] one step further, starting from the ground up in a way that is entirely designed to collect data and use that data for city purposes.”
NEOM's mind will come from China!
There was a lot of talk about Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to Riyadh and meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after lifting the COVID-19 restrictions. After that meeting, NEOM came out. According to Western media, China, which has built "smart cities" in Egypt and Serbia, will support the infrastructure of NEOM's surveillance technologies.
China's surveillance system will be used for the security of the city. "We're not yet seeing the same degree of physical surveillance [in Saudi Arabia] as we've seen in China, for example, but China is working with the Saudis and other Gulf states to start implementing it," says Annelle Sheline of the Quincy Institute in Washington.
One of the technologies China is already selling is said to be a "camera system that simultaneously checks thousands of people walking on the street, identifies those with criminal records or suspects, and alerts the police." It was announced that Huawei would also provide a "cloud system" to the Saudis, but the content was not given.
Floating city in the shape of a "tortoise" from the Saudis
Another futuristic thing the Saudis introduced was Pangeos, the floating city in the shape of a “tortoise”. Its name comes from the single supercontinent Pangea, about 335 million years ago. Pangeos, which will be the world's largest yacht when built, will be 600 meters wide and 600 meters long.
Let's explain for your comparison: Azzam, currently the largest yacht in the world, is 180 meters long! Pangeos, which can move at a maximum speed of 9 kilometers per hour, will obtain its energy from the giant solar panels on it. Pangeos will sail around the world from King Abdul Aziz Port in Saudi Arabia.
15 flying taxis ordered from Germany
“There will be flying taxis,” said Nadhmi al Nasr of Project NEOM. The Middle East media, on the other hand, announced that the Saudis ordered 15 “flying taxis” from the German company Volocopter last year. Allegedly, only 15 flying taxis cost $175 million.
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