Launched in 2017 by crown prince Mohammad bin Salman, the site is at the northern tip of the Red Sea, due east of Egypt across the Gulf of Aqaba and south of Jordan.

Multiple regions are planned, including a floating industrial complex, global trade hub, tourist resorts, and a linear city powered by renewable energy sources.

[12] Neom's construction has also been criticised for environmental and human rights violations, with expatriate employees describing abusive working conditions and members of the local Howeitat tribe protesting against their forced expulsion.

[78][79] In September 2023, Zaha Hadid Architects designed a 330 m (1,080 ft) tall skyscraper for Trojena which will stand on a mountain overlooking an artificial lake.

Renders of the skyscraper, which will be connected to the lakeside development by a cable car, showed a crystalline structure made of numerous columns that narrow towards the peak.

NEOM's plan for education includes building "smart schools" with AI-driven lessons that give each student a customized learning experience and training in advanced technology areas that prepare them for jobs in the digital economy in the future.

[92][93] In July 2020, the American company Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. announced that it would build the world's largest green hydrogen plant in Saudi Arabia.

Despite historically antagonistic relations, Israel is speculated to have a major role in the development of NEOM, with some suggesting that Saudi Arabia could be expressing an interest in Israeli intellectual capability to this end.

In particular, analysts suggest that Saudi Arabia may be interested in improved economic relations with high-tech industries in Israel required for the technological vision of Neom.

According to a report in an Israeli newspaper, there is supposedly evidence of coordination between Arab businessmen and diplomats in Tel Aviv, with companies in Israel said to be ready to secure billions of dollars worth of contracts.

[16] On 13 April 2020, activist Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti posted videos online announcing that Saudi security forces were trying to evict him and other members of the Howeitat tribe from their historical homeland to make way for the development of Neom.

[20][16] In the videos, Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti said that he would defy the eviction orders, although he expected that Saudi authorities would plant weapons in his house to incriminate him.

[103] London-based human rights activist and fellow Howeitat tribe member Alya Alhwaiti disputed this version of events, stating that al-Huwaiti did not own firearms.

[16] In June 2020, Salman signed a $1.7 million contract with American public-relations and lobbying firm Ruder Finn to counter the criticism and controversies involving the Neom city project.

[107] In October 2022, Neom was announced as the host of the 2029 Asian Winter Games, a decision that received criticism concerning its adverse environmental impact.

[99] Amidst increasing global-warming concerns, the project raised multiple issues ranging from the expected high temperatures in the desert land, the energy impact and detour of local water resources to the construction of artificial ski slopes from scratch.

Raphael Le Magoariec, a political scientist and specialist in the geopolitics of sports in the Persian Gulf region said that Riyadh "mainly wants to promote its city of the future.

"[99] In 2022, former employees reported NEOM project CEO Nadhmi Al-Nasr for promoting a management culture that "belittled expatriates, made unrealistic demands, and neglected discrimination in the workplace.

"[20][108] The resignation letter of a former chief executive, Andrew Wirth, accused Nasr's leadership of being "consistently inclusive of disparagement and inappropriately dismissive and demeaning outbursts.

"[108] Nasr, appointed by Prince Mohammed with the responsibility to lead NEOM, was accused in his tenure of berating and scaring his employees, as confirmed by present and former staff members.

[111] Advisers to Neom, including Daniel L. Doctoroff[112] and architect Norman Foster, were reported to have distanced themselves from the project and the "toxic" Saudi crown prince.

[113] Designers of The Line announced plans to use data as a currency to manage and provide facilities such as power, waste, water, healthcare, transport and security.

According to Joseph Bradley, the chief executive of Neom Tech & Digital Co., the data sweep would help developers feed the collected information to the city for further predicting and customizing every user's needs.

[114] However, Saudi Arabia's poor human-rights record[116] and use of espionage[117] and surveillance technology for spying on its citizens[118] emerged as a roadblock, according to digital rights experts.