Saudi PIF appoints program manager for $500 bln NEOM project

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has appointed UK’s Buro Happold as program manager for its $500 billion NEOM mega project, MEED reported.

In October, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman announced the launch of the new city that will be set up on a total area of 26,500 square meters in northwest Saudi Arabia.

The site will be the main entrance to the King Salman Bridge, linking Asia and Africa. Its land mass will extend across the Egyptian and Jordanian borders, rendering it as the first private zone to span three countries, PIF had said in a statement.

NEOM’s contribution to the Kingdom’s GDP is expected to be at least $100 billion by 2030, with construction of the first phase due to be completed by 2025.

According to MEED, PIF has appointed Netherlands-headquartered Arcadis as the program manager for the Red Sea Project which involves the development of 200 kilometres of coastline.

Meanwhile, US-based Parsons has been named program manager for the entertainment city in the Al-Qidya area of Riyadh, the report added.