With SAR 3bn in financing from the Riyad Bank, the island development of Sindalah marks the first Neom region to be successfully financed with bank debt.
The Saudi Arabian greenfield development of Neom has signed an agreement with Riyad Bank for SAR 3bn in debt financing to help fund the development of its smart island development Sindalah. It marks the first Neom region to be successfully financed with bank debt.
Neom has also announced it is staging the “Zero Gravity Urbanism – Principles for a New Livability” exhibition in Venice, which will include designs of The Line smart city.
Saudi Vision 2030
Riyad Bank is one of the largest supporters of Saudi Vision 2030 and has developed a diverse range of initiatives specifically designed to support business capabilities from establishment, logistics and investment.
Rayan Fayez, deputy CEO of Neom, said: “The Sindalah debt financing signifies Neom’s desire to diversify its funding sources, involve the private sector and attract capital of all types in its development. We have a number of projects currently underway, and in the pipeline, that represent very attractive commercial opportunities for the global financial community to participate in.”
Extending over an area of approximately 840,000 square metres, Sindalah, is one of a group of islands that will be developed in Neom. It is is expected to start welcoming guests from early 2024 and anticipates it will create 3,500 jobs for the tourism sector and hospitality and leisure services.
In April, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and Hotel Development, the Neom division that is responsible for building a future-centric hospitality ecosystem in the developing region, announced plans for a luxury resort on Sindalah Island.
Zero Gravity Urbanism exhibition
The historic Abbazia di San Gregorio in Venice will be the location for the Zero Gravity Urbanism – Principles for a New Livability. The exhibition features the proposals of world leading architects sharing their work on The Line smart city and their contribution to this urban revolution. Contributors include Morphosis, Sir Peter Cook, UNStudio, Fuksas, Oyler Wu, DMAA, and Adjaye, among others.
Zero Gravity Urbanism proposes a radical and progressive approach to cities with a sharper view towards balancing nature, livability, and human progress. In contrast to city development of the last century, it claims to offer a sustainable model that responds to the world’s most pressing environmental and urban challenges, while addressing the need to accommodate a fast-growing urban population. The proposed model tackles urban sprawl, and climate change.
From a conservation perspective, The Line proposes a city that can accommodate up to nine million inhabitants with a land footprint of two per cent of that of cities with similar populations. Neom reckons this will allow nature to thrive and contributes to protecting 95 per cent of its 26,500 km2 land area. The Line is also a model for a city that is fully powered by renewable energy and is supported with sustainable water and food production.
The city is car-free and is composed of hyper mixed-use walkable communities providing five-minute access to daily needs.
Nadhmi Al-Nasr, CEO of Neom, said: “The work undertaken by Neom in the last few years will not only be important in the context of The Line, but will also in a pro-active and meaningful way, help to engage in the ongoing development of sustainable urban design globally.”
Antoni Vives, chief urban planning officer of Neom, said: “Sixty-eight per cent of the world’s population is expected to be living in urban areas by 2050. The current global urban model driven by the automobile is failing and must be revisited considering its impact on the environment and on people’s wellbeing.”
The exhibition runs from 20 May until 24 September 2023 at Abbazia di San Gregorio and will host speaking events, educational programmes and round tables, featuring leading architects, academics, and urban thinkers from around the world.
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Quelle/Source: SmartCitiesWorld, 16.05.2023
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