Gulf Construction Online - Neom in talks with top firms on collaboration

Saudi Focus

Neom in talks with top firms on collaboration

01 October 2021

Saudi Arabia’s futuristic $500-billion new city Neom played host to nearly 150 design and construction companies who visited the project site over four days last month and held discussions with its top officials on future collaboration.

The meeting included an introductory session by Neom aimed at demonstrating to the participants its ambitious vision and plans that support Vision 2030, and the ambitious direction of HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, towards building a better future.

Neom is currently seeking contractors and investors for the giga project, which is located in northwest of Saudi Arabia, on the Red Sea coast.

The representatives of these global companies visited the 12-sq-km logistics park, featuring the construction villages with labour communities of up to 30,000 workers, as well as offices, warehouses, and construction service establishments, according to a SPA report.

“Neom is interested in the future of design and construction, and presents a positive image of how projects should be,” remarked its CEO Nadhmi Al Nasr. “The scale and complexity of this project requires strong partnerships between Neom and the entire industry value chain to make the giga project’s vision a reality.”

Chief Projects Officer Brett Smythe said: “What we witnessed in this meeting confirms the great interest in what we are aiming to achieve here in Neom. This interest is not only related to the size of the project, but also to the way the work is being implemented. We are serious about building Neom in a completely different manner and we are working to steer the sector towards technological progress, increased innovation, and efficiency.”

Among other developments, bids are expected to be invited for the construction of residential cities dedicated for a total of 100,000 project workers within Neom. The government plans to offer five to 10 bids over the coming six months, reported Saudi Gazette. Each of these residential cities will have the capacity to accommodate around 10,000 workers.

Deloitte company is providing the consultancy service for the government with regard to implementing the city. It has developed the Foreign Investment Advisory Center of Excellence with a view to assisting prospective investors throughout their investment journey in the kingdom.

Developers of Neom have recently invited bids for the construction of 31 km of tunnels as part of The Line – a 170-km belt of hyper-connected future communities, without cars and roads and built around nature – at the $500-billion project, according to a report.

The tunnel project is a part of The Line’s infrastructure backbone. The deadline for submitting the bids has been set at December 30, said a report by GlobalData’s MEED.

In June, China Railway Construction Corporation was selected for the adits and portals package, comprising the openings and access points for the tunnels.

According to GlobalData, the tendering activity for residential projects had gathered pace in recent weeks with two tenders issued for one- and two-bedroom homes under the Neom’s Community Expansion 3 programme. Also a separate tender was issued for 25 homes at Neom Zero.