Saudi Arabia and Egypt to finance $10bn into NEOM mega city

A joint fund has been set up by Saudi Arabia and Egypt for the development of the mega city NEOM.

The fund, committed to 1,000sqkm of the project in the south Sinai, has been valued at $10bn.

The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud travelled to Cairo to meet with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to discuss the matter.

It is anticipated that the NEOM project will in total cost approximately $500bn through public and private investments, as it covers 10,230 square miles.

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The mega city will run off sustainable energy, have its own judicial system, and will focus on the energy and water, biotechnology, food, advanced manufacturing, and tourism industries.

The project is considered to be part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy, as well as a bid to move away from oil revenues.

Plans for the mega city were originally announced by Saudi Arabia in October last year, which has since interested Egypt as it spans across the two nations, reaching Jordan.

In the plan, Saudi Arabia will develop seven cities, whilst Egypt will target Sharm El Shiekh and Hurghada.