NEOM, the world's most ambitious project to be built in the Northwestern part of Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea coast, entered the first phase of actual development after preparation works to develop the infrastructure of the first residential area accelerated. NEOM Bay--a luxurious touristic destination--will be the first urban area to embrace the future population in NEOM – that is planned to be one of the most attractive destinations worldwide for investments and sustainable economic development. Work on the first airport in NEOM is expected to be completed before the end of 2018 with bi-weekly flights operating to and from NEOM scheduled at the start of 2019. This comes as part of a general plan to establish a network of airports in NEOM that will include an international airport with world-class standards. Additionally, NEOM is witnessing progress in a number of key areas. One of the major key developments at NEOM since its inception is the identification of 16 economic sectors to create a sustainable economy that will not only generate job opportunities but will also unlock human innovation and creativity at all levels. As NEOM reaches an advanced stage of development, these sectors are targeted to generate an estimated annual income of $100 billion. A large part of this income will be in the form of redirecting the outflow of investments and spending back into Saudi Arabia. This in return will have a significant positive impact on the Kingdom's GDP. The identified economic sectors aim not only at stimulating growth and economic diversification but more importantly at finding innovative and sustainable solutions for challenges facing the future of human civilization. The 16 sectors are the future of energy, future of water, future of mobility, future of biotech, future of food, future of manufacturing, future of media, future of entertainment, culture and fashion, future of technology and digital, future of tourism, future of sport, future of design and construction, future of services, future of health and well-being, future of education, and finally the future of livability as the foundation of all sectors. His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Defense, announced on October 24th last year in Riyadh during the first edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) the launch of NEOM project on more than 26,000 km2 of land in the Northwestern part of Saudi Arabia. --More 14:57 LOCAL TIME 11:57 GMT 0009 www.spa.gov.sa/1833818
