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Saudis Are Talking to Amazon, Alibaba About New City, Prince Says

‘First robot in Neom will be Neom itself,’ crown prince says
Crown prince comments on the project in a Bloomberg interview

Video player cover image — Saudi Arabia Plans $500 Billion Mega City

By

Erik Schatzker,

Vivian Nereim, and

October 26, 2017, 8:57 AM UTC

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Saudi Arabia is in talks with some of the world’s biggest companies to develop technologies that will power life in the $500 billion city he’s planning to build on the Red Sea.

Neom, as the project is known, is due to open for business by 2025, with limited operations expected as early as 2020, Prince Mohammed told Bloomberg News in an interview in Riyadh on Wednesday. Amazon.com Inc., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Airbus SE are already involved in discussions, he said.