RIYADH: The $500 billion mega-city planned by Saudi Arabia will be floated on financial markets alongside oil giant Saudi Aramco as part of the kingdom’s drive to diversify away from oil, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in an interview.
The 26,500-square kilometers business and industrial zone, named Neom, will extend into Jordan and Egypt. It was unveiled on Tuesday at a three-day international investment conference.
The surprise announcement is the latest — and most extraordinary — in a slate of privatization programs led by the floating of oil giant Saudi Aramco. The sales are designed to boost the Saudi economy and create jobs for millions of young people.
“Without a doubt, at the end of the day Neom will be floated in the markets. The first zone floated in the public markets. It’s as if you float the city of New York,” the Crown Prince said.
Prince Mohammed also said the Saudi Aramco IPO was on track for next year, dismissing reports of delays, adding it could be valued at more than $2 trillion.
He spoke on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative conference, which has attracted nearly 4,000 delegates from around the world to Riyadh this week.
Adjacent to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba and near maritime trade routes that use the Suez Canal, the zone will serve as a gateway to the proposed King Salman Bridge, which will link Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Neom will be fully owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF) until its listing, and will attract investments from companies in renewable energy, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing and entertainment, the PIF has said.
“It won’t be listed in the markets until the idea is mature enough,” he said. “It might be after 2030, it might be before, but the idea and the strategy is to float it eventually.”
He said the name mixed “neo,” meaning new, with M, the first letter of the Arabic word for future.
It is part of the Vision 2030 plan to overhaul the economy of Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s largest producer, and provide jobs for an overwhelmingly young population amid a global oil price decline since 2014.
Economic growth has slowed and the economy may shrink this year as the government introduces austerity measures.
“The idea is not to restructure the economy as much as to seize the opportunities available that we didn’t address before. We have high capacity and we use only a little.”
The Crown Prince said Saudi Arabia’s dispute with neighboring Qatar had not affected investment.
“Qatar is a very, very, very small issue,” he said.
Saudi Arabia and three Arab allies cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar earlier this year over accusations Doha supported Islamic “terrorists.” Qatar denies the allegations.
He said the kingdom’s war in Yemen would continue in order to prevent the Houthi armed movement from turning into another “Hezbollah” on Saudi’s southern border.
“We’re pursuing until we can be sure that nothing will happen there like Hezbollah again, because Yemen is more dangerous than Lebanon,” he said.
Saudi Crown Prince reveals Neom megacity to be listed
Saudi Crown Prince reveals Neom megacity to be listed
Saudi Arabia’s construction costs see 1% annual rise in November: GASTAT
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s construction costs rose at a steady pace in November, signaling resilience in the sector as the Kingdom continues to manage rising labor and energy expenses.
The Construction Cost Index climbed to 101.75 points in November, up 1 percent from a year earlier and broadly unchanged from October, according to data from the General Authority for Statistics.
The steady momentum in Saudi Arabia’s construction sector aligns with a broader trend across the Gulf Cooperation Council, as regional economies push to diversify away from hydrocarbons.
In July, real estate consultancy Knight Frank said Saudi Arabia’s construction output value is expected to reach $191 billion by 2029, representing a 29.05 percent increase from 2024, driven by residential development, ongoing giga-projects and rising demand for office space.
In its latest report, GASTAT stated: “The CCI recorded a 1 percent increase in November 2025, maintaining the same growth rate observed in October 2025. This increase is mainly attributed to a 1 percent rise in construction costs for the residential sector and a 1 percent rise in construction costs for the non-residential sector.”
In the residential sector, labor costs rose 1.5 percent year on year in November, while equipment and machinery rental costs increased 1.3 percent over the same period.
Energy prices recorded a sharp increase of 9.9 percent compared with November 2024.
Basic material costs edged up 0.2 percent, driven by a 1.4 percent rise in cement and concrete prices and a 1.1 percent increase in raw material costs.
In the non-residential sector, the Construction Cost Index increased 1 percent year on year in November, mainly due to a 1.2 percent rise in equipment and machinery rental costs.
Labor costs increased 1.1 percent, while energy prices continued their upward trend, rising 9.9 percent over the year.
Basic material costs rose 0.3 percent, reflecting a 2.5 percent increase in wood and carpentry prices and a 1.4 percent rise in raw material costs.
The Construction Cost Index tracks changes in construction input costs across 51 items, with prices collected monthly from 13 regions through field surveys of contractors, engineering offices and construction material suppliers. The base year is 2023, and the index is published monthly.
