Saudi Arabia’s planned smart city NEOM, expected to be home to one million people, is set to issue its first tenders for a renewables power grid later this year. The move underscores the gathering green energy transition taking shape in Middle East countries, as they seek to shift away from their longstanding dependence on oil and gas. And while they profess a desire to contribute to international net-zero ambitions, there are also more hard-headed calculations at play.

Building on the success of its debut year in 2021, Extreme E-Season 2 Championship is returning to the Kingdom with a stronger and more attractive agenda in its second season, where the "Desert X Prix” award will be launched in NEOM on Feb 19-20.

Running under the theme “The Race for the Planet”, the new racing series in its second edition continues to present its lofty message, and its focus on addressing climate change through sports, which corresponds to the goals of the Saudi "Vision 2030" and the pioneering "NEOM" project to build a high-performance ecosystem and meets the Kingdom's commitment to developing and encouraging sustainability technologies.

Joint venture between smart city project and Dubai-based media company aims to create "the first AAA games development studio in the region"

Saudia Arabia's aspiring tech hub city-building project NEOM today announced a joint venture with media company MBC Group to create what it calls "the first AAA games development studio in the region."  No individual developers have been attached to the project yet, but NEOM said the studio is "currently being incubated with developers from all over the world," and will centralize itself in NEOM's media hub next year.

The Thai Chamber of Commerce is scheduled to lead business delegations to Saudi Arabia this month to restore trade and investment relations.  

Speaking after meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Don Pramudwinai on Monday to exchange their views on future cooperation with Riyadh, Sanan Angubolkul, chairman of the chamber, said the trade mission is scheduled to fly to Saudi Arabia on Feb 26 to visit Riyadh and NEOM in Tabuk province in the northwest, a pilot location for smart city technologies and a tourist destination project.

Since Vision 2030 was unveiled around six years ago, the kingdom has achieved many noteworthy milestones to support its economic diversification objectives and build a flourishing future for the people of Saudi Arabia. And to date, the vision realisation programmes specifically have achieved remarkable successes across the vision’s different pillars including a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation.

"We are determined to build a thriving country in which all citizens can fulfill their dreams, hopes and ambitions. Therefore, we will not rest until our nation is a leader in providing opportunities for all through education and training, and high-quality services in employment, health, housing, and entertainment," said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs.

The developers of NEOM, the futuristic city that is planned for the Saudi Arabian coast of the Red Sea, have unveiled plans to produce 80,000 tonnes of seafood through innovative aquaculture projects on the site.  During a presentation at this week’s Saudi International Marine Exhibition and Conference in Riyadh, the developers said that they aim to focus on the construction of innovative marine and land-based aquaculture production systems.  Species of interest include yellowtail kingfish, great amberjack, orange-spotted grouper and meagre.

NEOM Tech & Digital Company – on the back of announcing two products at LEAP – has unveiled the range of services it will offer at the half-billion-dollar data center, 'ZeroPoint DC', in partnership with digital infrastructure developer Ezdihar Advanced Company for Information Technology ("EzdiTek").   ZeroPoint DC will support three data centers with a capacity of 36MW and significant room for further expansion. At the nexus of terrestrial and sub-sea cable connections, the plan is to enable direct access to multiple cables, providing rapid, highly secure and carrier-neutral connectivity, in addition to a progressive regulatory framework and access to 100% sustainable energy.