"Saudi Arabia has a large desert, and we are cooperating with companies from other countries to build a green future city." Abdul Karim, personnel manager of the Saudi NEOM new city pile foundation project of Electric Power Construction Group Co., Ltd., said.

NEOM New City is a future new city within the framework of Saudi Arabia's "Vision 2030", with a planned area of 26,500 square kilometres. It borders the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba and is close to maritime trade routes via the Suez Canal.

The city plans to focus on the development of nine major industries, including energy and water, biotechnology, food, advanced manufacturing, entertainment, etc. The project is huge and the concept is avant-garde, which has attracted people's attention.

Enterprises from other countries are currently participating in the "foundation" project of this grand project, and they are integrating technology and standards into their daily work.

"The efficiency, speed, and safety have indeed been greatly improved," the project construction manager from Malaysia, described the seam welding machines in other countries. "This is something we have never seen in other projects."

To protect the soil, enterprises from other countries have used new materials, "making higher standards in terms of environmental protection and sustainable development," said the project manager.

In relevant people's view, NEOM New City is a starting point of Saudi Arabia's "Vision 2030". "Enterprises from other countries promote quality standards here and make our contribution to Saudi Arabia's 'Vision 2030'."

Abdul Karim said that this huge project still has a long way to go, "it's like breeding a future flower in the desert." Feel hopeful for the future.

Saudi Arabia's "Vision 2030"

Saudi Arabia is located at the junction of Asia, Africa, and Europe, with a population of 38.41 million, and is the largest economy in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia is the world's second-largest country with proven oil reserves after Canada (24% of the world's total explored oil), the world's largest oil exporter, and a major member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The oil industry accounts for about 75% of the country's total income, 40% of GDP, and 90% of export revenue.

However, because the Saudi economy is heavily dependent on the oil industry, a large amount of technology needs to be imported. For the long-term development of Saudi Arabia and the diversification of the economy, Saudi Arabia announced "VISION 2030" in 2016.

Its vision is to build Saudi Arabia into the heart of the world, the leading force and centre of global investment, and a global hub linking the three continents of Asia, Europe, and Africa.

From an economic point of view, the main purpose is to get rid of the dependence on oil revenue and diversify the sources of Saudi fiscal revenue. The cornerstone of the plan was the listing of Saudi Aramco.

The plan can be broken down into three major goals, namely a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an aspiring nation.

The specific implementation level can be divided into 27 sub-goals and 96 strategic goals. The core of the plan is to give full play to the advantages of existing resources and capital, to make the Saudi economy healthier and more efficient, and at the same time to achieve a better sense of social identity and satisfaction for the people, and to create a more fair, harmonious and sustainable development society.

Under the guidance of this policy, Saudi Arabia is achieving world-renowned economic growth. And as of September 11, 2022, most of the sub-projects of the VISION 2030 plan have been carried out as scheduled and have achieved certain phased results.