InvestigationThe Saudi prince wants to build a huge, ultramodern city in his country by 2025. The design has been entrusted, in the greatest secrecy, to creators accustomed to working for the cinema.
At the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh, it’s preview day. On this October 24, 2017, Mohammed Ben Salman, alias "MBS", inaugurates the "Davos of the desert". Among other celebrities, Tony Blair, Nicolas Sarkozy or Christine Lagarde responded to the invitation of the Saudi prince. The young heir takes advantage of the conference to unveil a titanic project: he is about to erect a megalopolis in the northwest of the country. A trailer is broadcast, like in the movies. We see a lot of touch screens, ostensibly happy families, a flock of solar panels, wind turbines.
Little is known about this mystery city. His name, Neom, sounds like a superhero – it’s actually the Greek association neo ("New") and Arabic Mostaqbal ( "Future"). Its area ? No less than 26,500 km2 – twenty times the size of Los Angeles – between the Red Sea and Jordan. The budget ? Five hundred billion dollars. The release date also stirs up teasing: delivery scheduled for 2025. As for the synopsis, it fits in a few lines: Neom is part of the development plan that “MBS” imagined for Saudi Arabia, entitled "Vision 2030". The goal is to free the country from oil rent and diversify its economy, betting on tourism. A scenario that several distinct sites decline: Al-Ula relies on archeology, Qiddiya on family leisure … Otherwise spectacular, Neom turns to new technologies. With the ambition, according to a confidential note, to become the megalopolis "The most livable there is, thanks to the greatest talents in this world".
In fact, a high standing cast was quickly formed. In the credits of the scientific council of Neom, the stars abound: the architect Norman Foster, the designer of Apple Jonathan Ive, the founder of Uber, Travis Kalanick, the former American secretary for energy Ernest Moniz or the ex -vice-president of the European Commission Neelie Kroes are part of it. The German Klaus Kleinfeld, passed by the management of Alcoa and Siemens, chairs the project; he is assisted by Antoni Vives, housing assistant to the mayor of Barcelona between 2011 and 2015. All are seduced by the green tech what does this sparkle "Mecca for robots", as defined by Washington Times in October 2017.
