Saudi Arabia's King Salman begins vacation in $500bn, unbuilt mega-city
What's the story
According to state media reports, Saudi Arabia's King Salman is taking a holiday in the as-yet-unbuilt $500bn futuristic mega-city, NEOM, that his son, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, has pledged to build from scratch.
This is slightly unusual, given that the Royal Family traditionally spends summers in the French Riviera, Marbella in Southern Spain, and Tangier in Morocco.
Here's more.
Neom
Neom was announced as part of a reform drive
Last year, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman announced plans for the 26,500 sq.km futuristic tech-hub of Neom.
The mega-city was envisioned as part of reforms aimed at job creation, attracting foreign investment, and allowing Saudis new freedom away from the religious puritanism in the state.
However, since the announcement, very few details about Neom have surfaced.
Progress
No concrete information on construction progress in Neom
As far as investment in Neom is concerned, some companies, including Japan's SoftBank, have said that they're willing to support the multi-billion dollar venture.
However, no major or concrete business ventures have been publicly announced yet.
With the royal court not responding to Reuters' requests for comments, and with Neom being largely inaccessible to civilians, the state of construction remains unknown as of now.
Holiday
Even details about King Salman's holiday remain sketchy
Coming back to King Salman, the state media said that king would spend time in Neom, but it's unclear where the 82-year-old will stay.
However, in February, Reuters had reported that local construction companies had been asked to construct five palaces for the royal family along the Red Sea coast for an undisclosed cost.
It's believed that some of these palaces have been completed.