CONSTRUCTION COLOSSUS

Saudi Arabia’s ambitious megacity project, Neom, is driving an unprecedented demand for materials, with a staggering 20 per cent of the world’s steel output being allocated to its construction. This colossal consumption highlights the scale and ambition of Neom, which aims to redefine urban living and become a global leader in sustainable development.

Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Neom project is gearing up for the next critical phase of construction as it ramps up production of key materials and accelerates its transformative development. As the $500-billion giga-project moves forward, Neom is setting up a dedicated multi-plant concrete factory on site and, according to Chief Investment Officer Manar Al Moneef, is using 20 per cent of the world’s steel output, highlighting the project’s unprecedented scale.

In remarks at the Global Logistics Forum last month in Riyadh quoted by Arabian Gulf Business Insight, Al Moneef emphasised the enormity of Neom’s footprint in global construction and logistics, stating that the futuristic city will remain the largest customer of building materials for the foreseeable future.

She stressed that Neom would be one of the world's leading drivers of the global logistics sector in the coming years. "Neom is going to be the largest customer over the next decade. If you look at our demand in logistics, it's five per cent of the global logistics market," she told the forum.

Neom's demand for steel means "we are 20 per cent of the global steel market. If you look at our demand in elevators, cement and so on... put simply, Neom is going to be the largest customer over the next few decades," Al Moneef was quoted as saying by the business news platform.

Dr Andrzej Kotas, a steel industry consultant with over 20 years' experience and Chief Executive of steel industry news outlet Steel On The Net, told Newsweek that this is an unprecedented "colossal amount" of steel for one construction project.

"I can't think of any projects that come anywhere near that," he said. "You sometimes have some very large transnational oil and gas pipelines, but nothing comes near to 20 per cent of the world's consumption."