Saudis Are Talking to Amazon and Alibaba Over New City

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Saudi Arabia is in talks with some of the world’s biggest companies to develop technologies that will power life in the $500 billion city he’s planning to build on the Red Sea, according to Bloomberg.

Neom, as the project is known, is due to open for business by 2025, with limited operations expected as early as 2020, Prince Mohammed told Bloomberg News in an interview. Amazon, Alibaba and Airbus are already involved in discussions, he said.

“We are talking with everyone,“ said the 32-year-old prince, heir to the throne of the world’s biggest oil exporter. “We have the ‘who’s who’ from around the world engaging in this.“ Artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things will combine to offer a lifestyle not available anywhere else, Prince Mohammed said.

“Your medical file will be connected with your home supply, with your car, linked to your family, linked to your other files,“ he said. “And the system develops itself in how to provide you with better things.“ Prince envisions an app-driven city that is almost entirely automated and responsive to the needs to its residents. “The first robot in Neom will be Neom itself,“ he said.

Plans for the project include a bridge spanning the Red Sea, connecting the proposed new city to Egypt and the rest of Africa. Some 25,900 square kilometers have been allocated for development of the urban area, which will stretch into Jordan as well as Egypt.

Asked if the city would compete with other regional commercial hubs such as Dubai, Prince Mohammed said the outcome will be more win-win than zero-sum. He said Neom will “create new demand“ that will help its neighbors too. “I don’t think Hong Kong harmed Singapore, or Singapore harmed Hong Kong.“