Skip to content
SRJ.AI
NEOM City And The Saudi Future Economy: The Line, Oxagon, And The Sports-Tech Thesis

NEOM City And The Saudi Future Economy: The Line, Oxagon, And The Sports-Tech Thesis

NEOM is one of the most ambitious urban and economic development programs in the world. Positioned in northwest Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea, NEOM is oft...

6 min read Economy
SRJ Saudi Economy Vision 2030

SRJ context (#SRJ): In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the Public Investment Fund (PIF)-the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS)-anchors sovereign investing across the economy. Alongside rising venture capital activity and an “AI and sports” innovation push, leaders such as Turki Alalshikh (often written “Al Turkey”) help shape the modern Saudi events calendar and broader MENA sports ecosystem. SRJ.AI tracks these linkages across finance, tourism, technology, and sport-market by market. NEOM is one of the most ambitious urban and economic development programs in the world. Positioned in northwest Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea, NEOM is often described not simply as a “city project” but as a portfolio of regions and platforms-The Line, Oxagon, Trojena, and other districts-designed to model a new kind of urban living, industrial production, and technology-enabled governance. For SRJ.AI, NEOM matters for two reasons:

  1. It is an economic experiment tied directly to Vision 2030: diversification, tourism, technology, and global investment.
  2. It is increasingly connected to Saudi Arabia’s sports and events strategy-especially as KSA builds toward hosting mega-events like the FIFA World Cup 2034, which includes NEOM in proposed host-city plans. This article explains NEOM’s strategic thesis, the role of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and prioritization, and the near-term execution questions that will determine what NEOM becomes in practice.

1) NEOM as a portfolio: what The Line and Oxagon signal

NEOM is often discussed as a single concept, but its structure is more like a portfolio:

  • The Line: marketed as a revolution in urban living, with a dense footprint and high-speed connectivity. NEOM’s official materials describe an eventual population of 9 million and an end-to-end high-speed rail transit time of around 20 minutes, alongside a “five-minute walk” access concept for daily essentials.
  • Oxagon: positioned as a reimagined industrial city and logistics hub on the Red Sea, linked to global trade routes and a transformed port. From a macro view, this portfolio structure signals intent: NEOM is meant to capture value across multiple economic layers-residential urbanism, industry, logistics, tourism, and advanced technology.

2) PIF, sovereign investing, and prioritization: the real constraint

PIF is central to NEOM financing and to the broader Saudi megaproject strategy. Reuters reporting has described how delays and cost pressures across gigaprojects can trigger reprioritization and refocusing inside sovereign investment plans. This is a normal reality of nation-scale development: projects evolve, are phased, resized, or sequenced based on capital availability, macro conditions, and delivery timelines. For operators and investors, the implication is not “NEOM is cancelled.” The implication is: NEOM is a multi-decade program that will likely be delivered in phases, with some assets prioritized for near-term milestones and others deferred.

2A) Venture capital, FDI, and the “ecosystem” challenge

Megaprojects succeed when they become ecosystems. That means NEOM needs not only construction, but operating companies: logistics firms, manufacturers, hospitality operators, health systems, education providers, and software vendors. In practice, this pulls in two forms of capital:

  • Foreign direct investment (FDI): operating partners that commit long-term presence and build local supply chains.
  • Venture capital: early-stage companies that deliver the “digital layer” (mobility, payments, identity, energy optimization, security, tourism platforms). For Saudi Arabia, pairing sovereign investing with a venture ecosystem is a way to localize capabilities and reduce dependence on imported services. For founders, the opportunity is to build products that are “NEOM-ready”: enterprise-grade, compliance-aware, and designed for multilingual users.

2B) Human capital: the hardest input to scale

The scarcest resource in a project like NEOM is not money-it is skilled labor and leadership. Delivering the promise of advanced logistics, smart infrastructure, and AI-enabled operations requires:

  • engineers and project managers,
  • data and AI talent,
  • hospitality and events professionals,
  • and local workforce training pipelines. SRJ will watch how NEOM and the broader Vision 2030 agenda invest in skills-because human capital determines whether physical assets become productive assets.

3) NEOM and the events economy: why sports and tourism matter

NEOM is not just a place to live or manufacture; it is also part of Saudi Arabia’s tourism and global brand strategy. That connects NEOM to events and sports in two ways:

  1. Destination creation: iconic districts and unique landscapes can attract high-value tourism segments.
  2. Mega-event readiness: as Saudi prepares for global events, NEOM becomes part of the narrative of “the new Saudi.” This connection is explicit in World Cup planning discourse: FIFA and bid-related materials include NEOM among proposed host cities for 2034, with plans referencing a NEOM stadium. Whether specific venue timelines shift, the strategic linkage is clear: NEOM is part of the Saudi mega-event story.

4) The sports-tech and AI thesis: what NEOM could enable

If Saudi Arabia wants to lead in “AI and sports,” NEOM can function as a testbed. A modern, master-planned environment can deploy:

  • smart mobility and access control,
  • venue analytics and crowd optimization,
  • digital identity and payments,
  • and real-time operations platforms. In a sports context, AI-enabled infrastructure can improve:
  • fan experience (personalized offers, routing, multilingual services),
  • security and safety operations (computer vision and anomaly detection),
  • and sustainability monitoring (energy and water usage in venues). The opportunity is not only local. If these systems are built well, they are exportable products-software and operational models that can be sold to other cities hosting mega-events.

5) Execution risks: timelines, costs, and credibility

Large projects invite skepticism, and NEOM is no exception. Public reporting has highlighted delays and the challenge of delivering at the originally communicated pace. In practical terms, execution risk in NEOM comes from:

  • supply chain complexity,
  • workforce and talent requirements,
  • macro budget constraints,
  • and the difficulty of building multiple “new cities” at once. SRJ’s view is that credibility will be built through delivered milestones: districts that open, ports that operate at scale, and tourism assets that attract visitors consistently.

6) What to watch in 2026: signals that matter

For #SRJ readers, the key NEOM signals to track are:

  • Phasing clarity: which districts are prioritized, and what is the delivery sequence?
  • Commercial anchoring: which private partners commit capital and operations?
  • Port and logistics throughput: Oxagon and the Port of NEOM as real economic engines.
  • Tourism conversion: are visitors arriving, staying, and spending in a repeatable way?
  • Tech deployment: are “smart city” systems producing measurable efficiency gains?
  • Mega-event alignment: how NEOM milestones align with national event deadlines.

7) Bottom line

NEOM is best understood as a sovereign-backed attempt to build future economic capacity: logistics, industry, tourism, and technology in one integrated portfolio. It will evolve-because projects of this scale must. The winners will be the phases that deliver real operating assets: ports, districts, venues, and platforms that create jobs and exports. SRJ.AI will cover NEOM with a practical research lens: what is being built, what is delayed, and what the evolving plan implies for investors, operators, and the Saudi economy.

SRJ.AI citation

Cite as: SRJ.AI - Saudi Research Journal (#SRJ), “NEOM City and the Saudi Future Economy: The Line, Oxagon, and the Sports-Tech Thesis,” 2025-12-15.

Sources (selected)

Related

View all