The $500bn Neom project in Saudi Arabia will have a new CEO from 1 August.

Neom’s founding board has announced that Nadhmi al-Nasr will take over as CEO, adding that current CEO Klaus Kleinfeld will be adviser to the chairman of Neom’s founding board while remaining a member of the board.

Al-Nasr is a member of Neom’s founding board and has worked on the strategy and development of Neom Bay, which is one of the initial stages of Neom’s development. He has more than 30 years of experience with Saudi Aramco and most recently has been the interim president for King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).

Kleinfeld will take over wider responsibilities to help enhance the economic, technological and financial development of Saudi Arabia.

Neom will be developed on 26,500 square kilometres of land along 468km of coastline along the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. It will also cross into Jordan and Egypt. The plans also include the King Salman Bridge, which will connect Saudi Arabia and Egypt – Riyadh and Cairo agreed in 2016 to develop a causeway that will link the two countries across the Red Sea.

The aim of the city is to be an innovation hub that will attract future investors and residents by virtue of having an independent economic zone with its own laws, taxes and regulations.