Gulf Construction Online - Neom unveils tourism island; awards contracts

Saudi Focus

Sindalah, the first luxury island destination within Neom.

Neom unveils tourism island; awards contracts

01 January 2023

His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince, Prime Minister and Chairman of Neom, has unveiled plans for Sindalah, the first luxury island destination within the mega futuristic city on the Red Sea.

Spread over an 840,000-sq-m area, Sindalah is one among a group of islands that will be developed within Neom. The mega project will boast an 86-berth marina, an ideal destination for accommodating luxury vessels, while offshore buoys will house superyachts, said the Saudi developer.

Providing one-of-a-kind nautical experience, Sindalah will offer 413 ultra-premium hotel rooms, in addition to 333 top-end serviced apartments. A luxe beach club, glamorous yacht club, and 38 unique culinary offerings will provide an incomparable experience in the Red Sea, it stated.

Speaking at the launch, Prince Mohammed said: “This is another significant moment for Neom and a major step in the kingdom realising its tourism ambitions under Vision 2030. Sindalah will be Neom's first luxury island and yacht club destination, providing a scenic gateway to the Red Sea that will become the region’s most exciting and attractive tourism location.”

A main gateway to the Red Sea offering bespoke nautical experiences, Sindalah is expected to start welcoming guests from early 2024.

A number of developments have been taking place at each of the other key components of Neom – Trojena, The Line and Oxagon – over the past month.

Bechtel, a leading US engineering, construction, and project management company, has been appointed as the project management consultant for Trojena, a year-round mountain destination being set up within Neom.

Located 50 km from the Gulf of Aqaba coast in the heart of Neom's mountainous region, Trojena will be the Gulf's first outdoor ski resort, staging world-class sporting events, art exhibitions, concerts, and cultural festivals. It spans over 1,400 sq km, with elevations ranging from 1,500 m to 2,600 m.

For Bechtel, the scope of work includes technical, commercial and construction management services for the development of Trojena and supporting Neom’s ambitions for sustainability. A total of 57 sq km will be dedicated to the main development, which will benefit from the unique mountain climate in the region, where temperatures drop below zero in the winter. Such conditions will allow Trojena to offer the Gulf's first outdoor ski experience and host the 2029 Asian Winter Games after submitting the winning bid.

Meanwhile, for The Line, the Saudi unit of Bauer, an international construction and machinery manufacturing group based in Germany, has secured two construction work contracts for ‘the 170-km belt of hyper-connected future communities without cars and roads and built around nature’ being developed within the $500-billion city.

This big win for Saudi Bauer Foundation Contractors comes on the back of a specialist foundation engineering project contract, which it had secured from Neom in August, involving the installation of 70-m-deep large-diameter bored piles for The Line.

Bauer Group said the follow-up contracts will also involve the construction of 70-m-deep large-diameter bored piles up to 2.5 m in diameter.

At Oxagon, Engineering Consultants Group (ECG), a leading engineering consultancy firm based in Egypt, has secured a major contract to develop the design for the container activation terminal buildings. These new buildings will be located in Zone C at the upcoming Oxagon City on a 342,999-sq-m area.

The key contract was awarded by Bin Omairah Holding, a leading provider of multi-utility infrastructure solutions in the region.

ECG said the scope of work includes readying the concept design for the Oxagon City featuring customs buildings (with a built-up area of 2,700 sq m), administration offices and other facilities such as canopy structures, security and fences, and gates and barriers.

In addition, ECG will be responsible for setting up road and utilities networks and canteen and lockers buildings.

Among other contracts awarded at Neom, Idom, a leading Spanish multi-national group providing consulting, engineering and architecture services, said it has clinched the deal for a new water mobility paradigm for the mega futuristic city.

As per the contract, Idom will collaborate with Neom on the design of a waterborne transport network featuring a zero-emission fleet.

Idom is putting its extensive knowledge and experience in the field of port and maritime transport at the service of this project, one of the most impressive and exciting in the world, it added.