The vision is certainly grand:
To observers, Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman Al Saud’s flagship idea may seem overly ambitious – to build a mega-city known as Neom along the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea that extends across the borders to Jordan and Egypt.
Indeed, its proponents are describing the planned 26,500 square kilometer city in almost messianic terms. “Neom is positioned to become an aspirational society that heralds the future of human civilization by offering its inhabitants an idyllic lifestyle set against a backdrop of a community founded on modern architecture, lush green spaces, quality of life, safety and technology in the service of humanity paired with excellent economic opportunities,” says Neom’s website.
Israel seems to be a glaring hole in that project denying it land contiguity. Is Israel envisioned as a partner in the future if anti-Israel bias can be reduced?
I tend to see things in terms of security issues. Tying Egypt and Jordan to Saudi Arabia does help Saudi Arabia in confronting Iran.
And the bridge plan at the southern end of the gulf would make it easier for Egypt to send troops to support Saudi Arabia.
I have to believe it would help Egypt economically as a route for Moslems making the trip to holy sites in Saudi Arabia.
The Neom project could certainly provide economic advantages to Jordan and Saudi Arabia (which wants to diversify from oil export dependence) if it brings in investments into an oasis of business-friendly rule of law and absence of Islamist ideology. Security better be tight.
Would it also provide help with the Salman project to move Saudi Arabia away from Islamist ideology that supports jihadis? Could it be an incubator for modernity using Jordan and Egypt as foreign shields to protect it from internal Saudi opposition?
It will be interesting to see if the Neom project is even started let alone built.
