Makes me wonder
if perhaps the real Neom (Noah II) lies deeply below the surface, and not so much in what they are going to show off above to the public … ?
To me it seems that giant projects and large (delayed) renovations often can contain secret facilities deep below the ground.
Also: Neom may not be truly be powered by green energy - just outwardly, in order to pretend it be green for the public.
Wouldn’t be the first time… I mean, those who engineer etc - know that green energy isn’t really so much to have, especially when the sh.. hits the fan. You need backups and stabilities.
What you say might go to why so much about NEOM is being kept secret. A seasoned researcher on X pointed out how difficult it was to find anything (other than the promo stuff in these online pieces). By the way, for those interested, check out the promotional videos on all things NEOM on Youtube. Very slick, and the descriptions as per the voiceover is very telling (they slide some insidious material into these "uplifting" "feel good" advertisements).
OR... maybe NEOM is exactly what it looks to be: another unrealizable Middle East mega-project, this one dreamed up by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammed Bin Salmon.
Actually, here's a good Youtube summation of NEOM, and why so many are saying it's doomed to fail.
Why NEOM The Line Is DOOMED To Fail
Chapters:
0:00 The Future Is Here
0:41 Background
1:35 Problem 4: Technology Does Not Exist Yet
5:20 Problem 3: Human Rights Violation
7:37 Problem 2: Ecological Disaster
9:25 Problem 1: Inefficient and Expensive Design
I thought this comment (below) by a viewer of this video captures how these mega wealthy Sheikhs think and operate (although this quote refers to the UAE, not Saudi Arabia):
@bobnat2: I lived in the UAE for two decades starting in 1999. I had made the acquaintance of an American who was the project manager for a new hospital complex. He gave a brilliant assessment of how the government approached development. He said, "The Sheikhs fly over New York or London in a helicopter and say, We want all of that in our country, those beautiful buildings and streets and stores. A consultant with them says that the infrastructure is immense and very costly. They reply, We don't care about that just give us the buildings." He nailed it. [end quote]
As per the video, on the ecology front: the mirrored surface of NEOM is sure to confuse (and cause death to) migrating birds; its hundred mile length is going to obstruct migrating desert animals. Also: the water needed for this desert project will have to come from desalinization plants (powered by fossil fuel --ha!) -- according to this vid, this approach has never been successful in the past.
Oh, and this project is also displacing much of the Huwaitat Tribe, which has lived in the region for generations, well before the establishment of Saudi Arabia.
Other comments below this video point out the potential disaster within this severely contained city should there be a serious power outage or natural disaster. Just trying to imagine living in such a place feels dystopic and prison-like -- and the plan is for
nine million residents.
Also: there isn't even the technology yet to realize the extremely high speed of the high speed train they are advertising.
Given the extreme AI dimension, one wonders what
Elon Musk's take is on all this. Actually, Musk sought funding from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (which is the primary funder of NEOM) in order to take Tesla private. In 2018, Musk was premature in tweeting the success of this, and his shareholders sued him given the tweet caused wild swings in Tesla's stocks that investors claimed hurt their portfolios. (Not sure of the outcome of this court case.)
Also: I read somewhere (can't find that link, I'm afraid) that the AI involved at NEOM may have ties to Musk's Neuralink. It is at least similar, and Musk may be involved in some way.
Also: just found this Axios item from November 1, 2022:
[Senator] Murphy on Monday asked the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) to investigate "potential national security concerns" arising from Saudi Arabia and Qatar's involvement in Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter. (Not sure what happened with this either.)