Saudi Arabia’s latest ambitious project will transform 90 remote Red Sea islands into a network of luxury hotels.
The £15 billion plan is backed by football star Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been seen at the resort with his family, soaking up the sun and enjoying the clear blue waters.
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The project is called the Red Sea Project and is an integral part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 initiative, which aims to diversify the economy and end its dependence on oil.
The project is managed by the Red Sea Development Company, a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.
The luxury resort is located on the west coast of Saudi Arabia between the cities of Umluj and Al Wajh and covers an area of approximately 28,000 square kilometers.
The area includes a vast archipelago with more than 90 islands, pristine beaches, deserts, mountains and even dormant volcanoes.
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The Red Sea Development Company describes the development as “based on sustainability and sustainable tourism” with a number of ultra-luxury hotels.
75 percent of the area’s natural environment is to be preserved, with the majority of the islands remaining untouched.
The project is expected to offer a range of luxury experiences, including world-class resorts, hotels and villas across multiple islands.
Famous hoteliers such as the Ritz-Carlton will soon open a branch on the Red Sea, reports Al Arabiya.
Marinas, golf courses, entertainment venues and cultural centers are other high-quality amenities included in the plans.
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The Red Sea project focuses on attracting affluent international tourists interested in ecotourism and sustainable travel.
The project will be developed in phases, with the first phase expected to be completed this year.
In the first phase, 16 hotels with a total of 3,000 rooms will be built on five islands and two resorts inland.
There will also be an international airport that will connect the destination with the largest cities worldwide.
Nicola Maniero, chief project manager at Kengo Kuma and Associates, designed one of the many resorts in the Red Sea Project.
He had previously told The Sun: “Our project is almost complete and we expect our first guests to arrive between December and early next year.”
“The island on which we built is only 70 centimeters above sea level.
“With the sand reclamation work we have carried out there, we have succeeded in raising the level of the island and preserving it in the future not only for tourism, but also for its fauna and flora.”
The Red Sea Project is expected to make a significant contribution to the Saudi economy, creating around 70,000 jobs and attracting one million visitors per year by 2030.
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END OF THE LINE?
But Saudi Arabia’s egomaniacal plan to become the centre of the world is in danger of failing, as it is accused of being “out of touch with reality”.
The kingdom boasts of technologies that have yet to be invented and wants to build the world’s tallest skyscrapers, futuristic cities and even an artificial moon.
Through massive investments under its “Vision 2030,” Saudi Arabia has unveiled 15 highly ambitious projects, financed at an unprecedented pace with billions from oil production.
In keeping with the megalomaniacal vision of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia is desperate to be the centre of the world.
But despite spending a whopping £1 trillion to get everything in order by the end of the decade, Saudi Arabia is unlikely to give up its dependence on oil any time soon.
The company’s flagship project, “The Line,” was supposed to be a 170-kilometer-long, lateral skyscraper that would fundamentally change Saudi Arabia’s economy. But now the costs have been drastically cut.
Analysts have also long expressed their doubts about the project, which has often boasted about technology that has yet to be developed.
A former employee previously described The Line as “out of touch with reality.”
A 2022 Bloomberg investigation that interviewed 25 employees and reviewed 2,700 pages of internal documents found that the project was plagued by setbacks and delays.
“BUILT ON BLOOD”
Saudi Arabia has unveiled extremely ambitious projects at an unprecedented pace, financed with billions from the oil business.
But behind the glittering facade lies a history of threats, evictions and bloodshed.
Many projects have been heavily criticized for human rights violations – including the $500 billion Neom project, which saw indigenous peoples driven from their homes, imprisoned or executed.
At least 20,000 members of the Huwaitat tribe are at risk of displacement and there is no information about where they will live in the future.
In order to implement Saudi Arabia’s development plans, the authorities also demolished numerous houses in the port city of Jeddah – thousands of residents were illegally displaced.
One activist claimed: “Neom is built on Saudi blood.”
Jeed Basyouni, Middle East director of the human rights organization Reprieve, told DW: “We have seen time and again that anyone who disagrees with the crown prince or stands in his way risks being sentenced to prison or death.”
What is Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030?
SAUDI Vision 2030 is a strategic framework launched by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2016 that aims to reduce the country’s dependence on oil, diversify its economy, and develop various sectors such as health, education, infrastructure, leisure and tourism.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is the pioneer of this vision. It outlines a wide range of goals and reforms that the kingdom wants to achieve by 2030.
The key objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 include:
Economic diversification: Transforming the economy from heavy dependence on oil to more sustainable and diverse sources of income, including tourism, entertainment and financial services.
Growth in the private sector: Increasing the private sector’s contribution to GDP by promoting entrepreneurship, privatising state-owned enterprises and creating a more attractive business environment for foreign investors.
Social reforms: Improving the quality of life in the Kingdom by promoting cultural activities, improving health care and expanding educational opportunities. The vision has also led to significant social changes, such as the lifting of the ban on women driving and reforms in the guardianship system.
Public Investment Fund (PIF): Expanding the role of the Saudi Public Investment Fund to finance large projects and investments at home and abroad. The PIF is an important tool for achieving Vision 2030 with investments in projects such as NEOM, a futuristic megacity.
Megaprojects: Launching and developing mega projects such as NEOM, the Red Sea Project, Qiddiya and others aimed at positioning Saudi Arabia as a global hub for trade, tourism and innovation.
Cultural and religious tourism: Increasing the number of religious tourists visiting Islamic holy sites in the Kingdom, with the aim of increasing the number of Umrah visitors to 30 million per year by 2030.
