It is no secret that Neom is Saudi Crown Prince MBS‘ futuristic vision. Spanning 26,500 square kilometers, or about 10,230 square miles in the northwest of the country along the Red Sea coast, it is an ambitious $1.5 trillion development advancing at breakneck speed to create a new way of life. Unsurprisingly, this giga-project, 24 times the size of Hong Kong, is currently consuming one-fifth of all steel produced globally. Neom’s Chief Investment Officer, Manar Al Moneef, stated on Monday, “Neom is going to be the largest customer over the next decade. If you look at our demand in logistics, it’s 5 percent of the global logistics market.”
Luxurylaunches has extensively covered Neom City and its various components, from The Line, which alone is 33 times the size of New York City, to the seahorse-shaped island Sindalah, Neom Port, their floating industrial complex, and several tourist resorts.
Beyond skiing at Trojena, the year-round ski resort set to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games, Neom’s allure extends to Magna, a cluster of 12 luxury resorts poised to redefine luxury travel. Neom offers a vast array of attractions and more. With upcoming projects like Xaynor, Gidori, Leyja, Epicon, and Utamo, one can understand why Neom is projected to be a major driver of the global logistics sector in the coming years.
According to World Steel, in 2023, the world produced nearly 1.9 billion metric tons of crude steel. Neom consumed 20%, which would equate to 380 million metric tons. To put this in perspective, the entire U.S. consumed only 104 million metric tons in 2022. So Neom’s consumption is approximately 3.65 times higher than that of the United States, highlighting Neom’s massive scale, as it far exceeds the steel consumption of a major industrial nation.
While some projects, such as Sindalah and Trojena, are nearing completion for upcoming events, others will face delays. For instance, The Line, initially envisioned as a 170-km-long stretch to be completed by 2045. However, it is now projected to reach only 5 kilometers by 2030. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is preparing for other major events like the World Expo 2030 and the 2034 World Cup in Riyadh, which has led to the rescheduling of some projects.
Nevertheless, Neom’s continued demand for construction materials, particularly steel, is expected to position it as one of the largest buyers for decades to come.
