Sustainability and Innovation in Megaprojects: Assessing NEOM’s Role in Saudi Arabia’s Economic Future.

Abstract

The themes of economic diversification and urbanization have increasingly occupied our attention amongst urban scholars, especially within megaprojects. On a Global scale, cities are embracing technology and innovation, sustainability, and economic evolution towards smart environments. One of the largest and most ambitious urban developments in the world, the $500 billion NEOM smart city in Saudi Arabia, is being advertised as a key aspect of Saudi Vision 2030 (Farag, 2019).

The megacity NEOM is perceived as a futuristic city that utilizes artificial intelligence, renewable energy, advanced mobility, and an advanced digitized infrastructure (Altahtooh, 2019). As part of the project which aims to draw foreign investment, establish jobs and cut the kingdom's oil revenue dependence (Yusuf and Abdulmuhsen, 2023). Yet, despite NEOM seemingly mirroring trends towards smart cities globally, it also poses economic, environmental and logistical challenges (Algumzi, 2022).

1.2 Research Context: NEOM and Vision 2030 Vision 2030, which is the national reform strategy for Saudi Arabia, includes economic diversification and decreasing dependency on fossil fuels through sustainable urban development (Alghamdi, 2020). This umbrella includes NEOM as a flagship initiative to make Saudi Arabia at the forefront of city restructuring and green sustainability innovation (Mittal et al., 2023). This paper critically evaluates the role of NEOM in economic diversification, technological affordability and social context under the larger Vision 2030 umbrella.

1.3 Rationale for the Study Smart cities have been identified as valuable tools for sustainable development, thus studying sustainable megaprojects such as NEOM can provide insights into their viability in the context of developing countries. Although the concept of smart urbanism has initiated a rich literature (Kitchin and Dodge, 2017), there is little work focused on the long-term.