(Neom / Saudi Arabia) – The development of the Saudi city of art Neom is progressing: Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince and CEO of the Neom Company, has announced the founding of Oxagon – “the next phase of the Neom master plan”.
Neom is based on the “Vision 2030” of the Saudi royal family. As reported, an innovative and creative model region is to be built on the Red Sea 
as a “living laboratory” where “more than a million inhabitants from all over the world live and work” (Claim: “Accelerator of human progress”).
The area is given as 26.500 square meters. The $500 billion project spans Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt. Cities, ports, industrial and commercial areas, research centers, sports, entertainment and tourism are planned - and all activities should take place without CO2 emissions.
The royal family had already announced “The Line” in January 2021: a 170-kilometer belt of networked communities without cars or roads and powered by electricity from renewable energies. 
It connects the Red Sea with the mountains of northwestern Saudi Arabia. Housing and infrastructure would be “built around nature rather than on top of it”. This is a “direct response to some of the most pressing challenges facing humanity today, such as aging infrastructure, pollution, traffic and congestion.” 
All important facilities for daily life, such as schools, doctor's offices, leisure facilities and green spaces, would be reachable within five minutes on foot. With high-speed trains and autonomous mobility, no journey should take longer than 20 minutes - preferably below the surface.
“Catalyst for economic growth”
The new industrial area now presented is a “catalyst for economic growth and diversity in Neom and the Kingdom,” said Mohammed bin Salman. The core area covers an area in the southwest corner of Neom and is centered around the port and logistics center. The area is powered by 100 percent clean energy. The development of Oxagon is in full swing and the designs for the large production facilities are in progress. The first businesses are expected to be located there as early as 2022.
Green hydrogen and ammonia
The planned plants also include the world's largest green hydrogen project. As reported, in the summer of 2020, the US manufacturer of industrial gases Air Products & Chemicals, the Saudi utility ACWA Power and the Neom model region signed a contract according to which a plant powered by renewable energy will be built to produce ammonia as a basis for green hydrogen. Commissioning is scheduled for 2025.
The investment volume amounts to around five billion dollars (4,4 billion euros). Air Products is investing another two billion dollars (1,7 billion euros) in the distribution and supply chain that is solely the responsibility of the company, such as hydrogen storage and filling stations with a focus on buses and trucks.
Thyssenkrupp is on board
Thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers (TKUCE) will deliver an electrolyzer with a capacity of 20 megawatts to the Middle East. From 2025, the “Helios Green Fuels Project” production facility will produce around 650 tons of hydrogen and 3.000 tons of ammonia from the output of wind turbines and solar power systems with an installed capacity of four gigawatts. The Federal Ministry of Economics (BMWi) is funding Thyssenkrupp's planned hydrogen electrolysis plant in Saudi Arabia with 1,5 million euros.
The first announcement about the newly planned high-tech city in the desert was made in 2017. Work has been going on on Neom since then. The made-up word is made up of “neo” (for “new”) and the Arabic abbreviation “M” (for “mostaqbal”, future). However, it still seems unclear what future the population currently living there has.
deep link
https://www.neom.com/de-de
https://www.neom.com/en-us/newsroom/hrh-prince-announces-oxagon
Photo above
Oxagon becomes part of the new city of Neom. © Neom
Map
Location of Neom in Saudi Arabia. © Wikimedia; CC-BY-SA-4.0
Photo middle
Mohammed bin Salman at the presentation of “The Line”. © Neom
Photo below
Course of “The Line”. © Neom; Screenshot from presentation video
