Saudi Arabia’s Neom has opened its first international office in London.
The office, at Chancery House in Holborn, WC2, will serve as a base for Neom’s business across Europe.
Plans for the $500bn super-city, which include proposals for a 170km linear city dubbed the Line, a floating industrial complex called Oxagon and Trojena, Arabia’s first outdoor skiing resort, cover a total area of 10,200 sq miles of the Arabian desert, in the north-west of the country close to the Jordanian city of Aqaba.
Abdallah Alhazani, currently executive director of Oxagon, will lead the new Neom Europe entity as chief executive. Prior to that, he was an executive director of the Neom Investment Fund, Neom’s strategic investment arm.
The office was opened by the Saudi ambassador to the UK, Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz.
He said: “Neom aims to transform how people around the world live and work, and the opening of its office in London provides a platform to introduce the project and its global importance to UK investors, organisations and innovators who share its vision and ethos. The opening of the office reflects the important role that we believe the UK and its industry leaders will play in contributing to Neom’s efforts to accelerate human progress and deliver a new future for all.”
UK deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden also led the ceremony, saying: “This is an important milestone, integrating Neom with London’s finance and tech ecosystems, with the potential for London to become Neom’s second home for design and project management, promoting investment and growth across the UK.”
Neom chief executive Nadhmi Al-Nasr said: “We believe we must have a global footprint and work with the world’s brightest minds to solve the world’s most pressing challenges. From this standpoint, choosing London to open our first international office fits within the framework of consolidating our presence in the United Kingdom and Europe in general. Neom has already established many exciting investments and partnerships with UK and European entities, and through this office, we intend to explore further opportunities for collaboration and to promote Neom’s unique capabilities and investment opportunities.”
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