Neom is Saudi Arabia's multibillion-dollar megaproject, consisting of a special economic zone to be built at the northern end of the Red Sea.
It was announced in 2017 by the Kingdom's Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, as an ambitious national tourism strategy.
However, have you ever wondered how the experts behind the project came up with its unique name?
Well, if you are curious, the answer is quite simple and also has a connection with the crown prince of the Kingdom.
According Arab business“Neom,” the distinctive name of the Kingdom megaproject, is an acronym that was coined by combining the ancient Greek prefix neo meaning “new.”
The “M”, which completes the name of the project, comes from the first letter of the Arabic word 'mustaqbal', which means future.
“M” is also the first letter of the name of the crown prince of the Kingdom.
Ultimately, the board unanimously approved the name “NEOM” after testing more than 2,000 names proposed by the consulting team.
The list was eventually narrowed to 150 names and then to five, but none of them were chosen.
The board of directors had brainstormed words that represented the project's sectors and its basic pillars, which led to the final name.
Saudi Arabia's multibillion-dollar megaproject Neom is set to open the doors of its first destination, Sindalah, to the public this year. Meanwhile, it recently raised $2.7 billion in new funding for its linear city, “The Line.”
