The Saudi Press Agency reported early Monday that NEOM, a project fully owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, is “completely under Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty and regulations.”
The confirmation came after NEOM’s tourism sector head Andrew McEvoy made statements to the press about demographic status within the megacity during his involvement in the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, implying that residents within NEOM will have a special status differentiating them from others.
According to the official source, the NEOM project will operate within “special economic zones subject to the sovereignty and economy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in terms of security, defense, and regulatory aspects.”
Economic legislation specific to the project area will be developed to achieve the best concepts of economic zone governance in the world, making NEOM one of the world’s most important attractions, according to SPA.
The point was underlined by Manar Al-Munif, a chief investment officer of NEOM, while speaking at the Saudi-Thai Economic Forum in Riyadh on May 16.
She said the $500-billion future city will have its own regulations based on best practices from around the world that will allow businesses to grow and develop.
Al-Munif revealed that NEOM is the largest Environmental, Social, and Governance initiative in the world, and added that the project will create several investment opportunities for businesses.
“We have identified a number of investment opportunities across 16 sectors in NEOM. These sectors represent the future, and we have outlined 150 investment initiatives. Each of these initiatives is going to have hundreds of opportunities regardless if it is a direct investment, joint venture, or merging,” Al-Munif added.
She also said the NEOM project is trying to reinvent and introduce environmental factors, thus ensuring harmony with nature.
