We planned to drive from Catalina Seaplane Wreckage on a scenic coastal road toward Georgios G. Shipwreck. However, just a few kilometers before the shipwreck, we hit a checkpoint created by Special Forces for Environmental Security (SFES), and that was the end of our plan.
They did not allow us to continue our drive to the shipwreck because of the land and property megaproject – The Red Sea Project, part of the Saudi Vision 2030 program. They plan to construct 3,000 hotel rooms in 16 hotels along with the Red Sea International Airport, a yachting marina, etc.
Just a day before, we drove toward Catalina Seaplane Wreckage for several hundred kilometers around the Neom – arguably the world’s most significant and most controversial architecture project.
The Saudi development company established to create Neom, which chief executive officer Nadhmi Al-Nasr leads, claims the fund is contributing $500 billion to the scheme. It forms part of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan to diversify the country’s economy to reduce its dependence on oil.
Neom encompasses an area of around 126,500 square kilometers, consisting of 10 projects that they refer to as regions. So far, details of four of the regions have been announced. These are The Line, which is the most well-known, and Oxagon, Trojena, and Sindalah.
The Line will be a 170-kilometer linear city that will house nine million people. It will run from east to west across the Neom region. According to the developer, the city will consist of two parallel, 500-meter-high, linear skyscrapers 200 meters apart. The buildings will be clad with mirrored facades.
Oxagon is planned as an octagon-shaped port city built on the Red Sea far south of the Neom region. According to Neom’s developer, the port and logistics hub will be the “world’s largest floating structure.”
Trojena is planned as a ski resort in the Sarwat Mountains near the north of the Neom region. The 60-square-kilometer skiing and outdoor-activity resort will offer year-round skiing and is set to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games.
Sindalah is planned as an island resort within the Red Sea. Aimed at the yachting community, the 840,000-square-metre island will have an 86-berth marina and numerous hotels.
Springs of Moses
