Coming from the future, even before it was launched, this is how NEOM was born and this is how its founder, His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, envisioned it, as he laid its foundations for the NEOM Company, as the future, an agent of progress and change. It is therefore expected that the “future” will be intimately linked to NEOM’s core identity, name, values, and vision.

Naming the Project

The Crown Prince and Chairman of the Board of Directors of NEOM, His Royal Highness The Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, discussed and deliberated with members of the project’s founding committee—in addition to experts and field experts—on an apt name for such a project with a global perspective.

As the Council held its first meetings to discuss related issues, among the items on the agenda was the search for a name that would represent the identity and symbolism of the dream project. All that is because His Royal Highness sees that the name represents the cultural and civilised dimension of the universality of the project. A series of discussions took place about the meaning of the name and how it could reflect the project’s remarkable global identity, human dimension, and ambition. The list of names first proposed amounted to 2,000 names, which were later reduced—by standards and requirements—to 150 names, and then again to five names. However, none of them was selected or agreed upon.

Mohammed Bin Salman on Neom City

Deciding On A Name

During the Organising Committee discussions, some members considered naming the project after His Royal Highness, the Chairman of the Organising Committee, either directly or by incorporating his name into the name of the project. As a result, two names were suggested: “NEOVIA MBS” (NEOVIA MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN) and “NMBS”, but the members did not agree on an opinion regarding that. The unfavourable group choosing to name the project after His Royal Highness is enough to deliver a message to the world. However, His Royal Highness Mohammed Bin Salman’s main idea was that the name should not belong to the East or the West, nor to a particular language or culture. It should be neutral and popular.

Board members then brainstormed words that represent the project’s areas and the basic pillars of the project. The next thing was to choose the abbreviations of these industries and merge them to get a special name that maintains the identity of the project. This resulted in the name “NEO MSTACBEL”, whose abbreviation MSTACBEL stands for key project areas, such as Media, Sports, Technology and Energy. And then the word was abbreviated and denoted by the letter M, which means “Mim” in Arabic, is a symbol for two words: it is the first letter of the Arabic word for future (mustaqbal) and also the first letter of the name of His Royal Highness, The Crown Prince “Mohammed” bin Salman. Then, the letter “M” was combined with the Greek word “NEO,” meaning new! The name “NEOM” has now been formed and approved by the Board of Directors.

Thus, the name NEOM was formed with the consent and approval of the Founding Council as the official name of the project.

The NEOM Company Project

The company has many projects, but the main project is NEOM City with the involvement of Mubadala Investment Company in the UAE. Following in the footsteps of the UAE in creating a 100% sustainable city with green buildings and renewable energy, Saudi authorities have planned a one-of-a-kind design for the city: a line. The Neom project is a planned megacity and special economic zone developed in Tabuk province, in Northwest Saudi Arabia, just 8 hours from major international destinations in Asia, Europe, and Africa. According to the imagination of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, it will have an area of 26,500 km² and will have more than 9 million inhabitants. The city will be powered by renewable energy sources and will have modern technology and infrastructure. The $500 billion megacity is part of Saudi Arabia’s vision. Introducing Neom City, or Project Neom is a zero-carbon smart city planned by the Saudi government and envisioned by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Salman.

And this project will have a great impact on different areas of life:

Health, Wellness and Biotechnology

NEOM will build an integrated medical, health, and biotech ecosystem that goes beyond traditional medical care—an unprecedented end-to-end system, completely focused on the individual. With world-class treatments and holistic care, NEOM will harness innovative technology, research, and education to become the global standard in the field.

Technology and Digital

Virtualize the real and realise the virtual. We use data that respects individual choices to improve lives through personalised, predictive, and autonomous services that are visually integrated into the environment. This world of awareness feels centred around you because it is.

Energy

Grow 100% clean energy at scale for NEOM and ultimately the entire planet. With unparalleled wind and solar resources and the largest hydrogen plant in the world, we will incubate and accelerate renewable solutions. Our goal is to move beyond zero carbon to a circular economy, using future thinking to drive change.

Financial services

The financial services industry aims to achieve universal access to financial services by realizing seamless end-to-end solutions, fully digital payments, advanced interfaces, biometric identification systems science and other advanced technologies.

Mobility

Welcome to the Future of Mobility. NEOM is a paradigm shift that will transform the way people, nature and technology interact. Walkability and cycling inspire a human-centric urban design enabling transport innovation and a seamlessly connected and sustainable mobility ecosystem.

Sport

The challenge is on for NEOM, the next global hub for sport, that holds physical activity and innovation at its very core. NEOM is set to become a top destination for major sporting events, partnering with global sports brands, championing outstanding livability for residents and contributing to NEOM’s innovative economy.

Design and Construction

Merging digital end-to-end design with sustainable construction in a fourth industrial revolution to ensure NEOM is the standard by which the industry measures itself.

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September 8, 2022
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