Saudi Arabia's Neom is planning to engage infrastructure contractors on an early contractor involvement basis for the development of the Gulf of Aqaba project infrastructure.

The contractors will participate in the development and review of the design, time and cost estimation studies, procurement plan, pre-construction services, programme schedule development, construction and interface management.

The initial infrastructure development covers 97 kilometres (km) along the coast of Aqaba with a single road that stretches from north to south. The development has been divided into 'plain area' and 'mountainous area' segments, based on its terrain and topography.

The plan involves the utility and civil infrastructure development in the plain and mountainous sections, Romantic Bay, the Cube development and the golf course.

The civil infrastructure plan is outlined for six districts and includes the construction of bridges, underpasses and box culverts.

The scope and description of the districts is as follows:

• District 1 - Northern Gateway: includes 13 bridges and underpasses with a length of 1.9km, 18 wadi culverts and five drainage culverts
• District 2 - Romantic Bay and the Cube: includes two bridges and underpasses spanning 360 metres, 40 wadi culverts and 24 drainage culverts
• District 3 - Wadi Tayyib: includes two bridges and underpasses, 26 wadi culverts and nine drainage culverts
• District 4 - Jungle Club: includes three bridges and underpasses and 17 wadi culverts
• District 5 - Magna: includes two bridges and underpasses, 14 wadi culverts and two drainage culverts
• District 6 - Southern Gateway: includes three bridges and underpasses, 31 wadi culverts and one drainage culvert

In September, MEED reported that Neom has selected a joint venture of the local Al-Ayuni Investment Company and Turkish contractor Limak Holding to deliver the early works for the Cube mountain resort at the Gulf of Aqaba in Neom.

The scope of work includes enabling works, drilling of vertical and inclined boreholes, a drill-and-blast construction access tunnel, excavation works at the top of the mountain and other associated works.

The Cube will be built on top of a mountain overlooking the Gulf of Aqaba. Each side of the Cube building will be about 100 metres.

The Gulf of Aqaba is a 120km-long coastal strip at Neom with an average width of 3.5km. The total land area is about 430 square kilometres.

The overall development involves constructing several hotels, including a low-rise resort and the Gas Station Hotel, which comprises two 500-metre-tall hotel towers on either side of the main highway serving the development.

Oil production cuts trim public sector growth, but private sector thrives

*=Year-to-date | Sources: IMF, MEED Projects, MEED

MEED’s October 2023 special report on Saudi Arabia includes: 

> COMMENT: Riyadh reshapes its global role
> POLITICS: Saudi Arabia looks both east and west
> SPORT: Saudi Arabia’s football vision goes global
> ECONOMY: Riyadh prioritises stability over headline growth
> BANKS: Saudi banks track more modest growth path
> UPSTREAM: Aramco focuses on upstream capacity building
> DOWNSTREAM: Saudi chemical and downstream projects in motion
> POWER: Riyadh rides power projects surge
> WATER: Saudi water projects momentum holds steady
> GIGAPROJECTS: Gigaproject activity enters full swing
> TRANSPORT: Infrastructure projects support Riyadh’s logistics ambitions
> JEDDAH TOWER: Jeddah developer restarts world’s tallest tower