HRH PRINCE MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN ANNOUNCES SINDALAH, NEOM’S FIRST ISLAND DEVELOPMENT Media Man

HRH PRINCE MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN ANNOUNCES SINDALAH, NEOM’S FIRST ISLAND DEVELOPMENT

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NEOM, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, December 5, 2022 – His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince, Prime Minister and Chairman of the NEOM Company Board of Directors, has announced the development of Sindalah, the first luxury island destination in NEOM and one of the most important projects supporting Saudi Arabia’s national tourism strategy.

A main gateway to the Red Sea offering bespoke nautical experiences, Sindalah is expected to start welcoming guests to enjoy its exquisite facilities and exclusive offerings from early 2024. It is anticipated that the development will create 3,500 jobs for the tourism sector and hospitality and leisure services.

Extending over an area of approximately 840,000 square meters, Sindalah, is one of a group of islands that will be developed in NEOM, each according to its unique vision and design.

His Royal Highness said: “This is another significant moment for NEOM and a major step in the Kingdom realizing its tourism ambitions under Vision 2030. Sindalah will be NEOM’s first luxury island and yacht club destination in the Red Sea, providing a scenic gateway to the Red Sea that will become the region’s most exciting and attractive tourism location. It will be a destination where travelers can experience the true beauty of NEOM and Saudi Arabia, above and below the water, making Sindalah the future of luxury travel.”

Adding to NEOM’s growing tourism offerings, Sindalah will reshape the luxury international yachting calendar offering a new season for visitors and guests to enjoy. It will feature a prestigious 86-berth marina, an ideal destination for accommodating luxury vessels, while offshore buoys will house superyachts. Providing one-of-a-kind nautical experiences, Sindalah will offer 413 ultra-premium hotel rooms, in addition to 333 top-end serviced apartments. A luxe beach club, glamorous yacht club, and 38 unique culinary offerings will provide an incomparable experience in the Red Sea.

With its incredible array of amenities, state-of-the-art marine facilities, strategic location and exceptional natural landscapes, Sindalah is expected to become established as one of the most alluring islands in the Red Sea.

Building on its ability to design new tourism opportunities from the ground up, NEOM is working with world-class leisure and hotel brands to make Sindalah an exclusive and glamorous destination in the Red Sea for the world’s yachting community. NEOM is developing the island to be a premium destination surrounded by a stunning and diverse marine environment which has one of the world’s most beautiful coral reserves.

Sindalah is also expected to become a popular golfing destination by offering enthusiasts the opportunity to experience a world-class 6,474-yard (5,920 meters) par 70 course. With its 18 tees, the Sindalah golf course will deliver two unique nine-hole experiences.

The announcement of Sindalah affirms the accelerated pace in the development of NEOM towards achieving the ambitious vision of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, with the development of its flagship projects such as THE LINE, its designs recently revealed by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince; TROJENA, its global mountain tourism destination that will be the Arabian Gulf’s first outdoor skiing retreat; and OXAGON, its reimagined manufacturing and innovation city. All NEOM projects are aligned to redefine the way humanity lives and works in harmony with nature.

About NEOM

Coming from the future, before it was even launched, this is how NEOM came about, and this is how its founder, His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, envisioned it, as he laid its foundations to be the future, an agent of progress and change. It was therefore expected that "future" be intertwined with NEOM's basic identity, its name, its values and its vision, and this is how NEOM is… from the future and to the future.

The Crown Prince and Chairman of the NEOM Board of Directors, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman, discussed and deliberated with members of the project's Founding Board - in addition to experts and specialists in the field - about an appropriate name for such a project with a global outlook. When the Board conducted its first meetings to address related topics, among the agenda items was the search for a name that represents the identity and symbolism of this dream project, as HRH saw that the name expresses the cultural and civilizational dimension of the universality of the project. A series of discussions were circulated about the significance of the name and how it should reflect the project's global identity, human dimension and remarkable ambition.

The actual name designation journey began by defining criteria, qualities and conditions, all of which bear a clear and firm vision for selection; then, sorting and testing the lists of names proposed by the consulting team. The list included 2,000 names, which was further reduced - as per the standards and requirements - to 150 names, and then reduced again to five names. However, none of them was chosen or agreed upon.

During the Founding Board discussions, some members considered giving the project the name of HRH, the President of the Founding Board, either directly or by incorporating his name within the project name. As such, two names were suggested: "NEOVIA MBS" and "NMBS," but the opinions of the members were split. The team that was not in favor clarified that HRH, the Chairman of the Board, leads major national projects, and HRH being Chairman of NEOM Board of Directors is sufficient to deliver a message to the world that reflects the direct connection of HRH to the project. They did, however, support HRH's principal idea that the name should be neither Eastern nor Western, and also not belonging to a specific language or culture, in addition to being neutral and rather open to the entire world.

The Board members then brainstormed for words representing the project sectors and its basic pillars. What followed was choosing the initials of those sectors and merging them to obtain a distinctive name that preserves the identity of the project, and this resulted in the name "NEO MSTACBEL," whose initials MSTACBEL symbolize the main project sectors, such as Media, Sport, Technology and Energy. And then the word was abbreviated and symbolized by the letter M, meaning "Mim" in Arabic as a symbol for two words: It is the first letter of the Arabic word for future (mustaqbal) and also the first letter of the name of HRH Prince "Mohammed" bin Salman. Then the letter "M" was merged with the word "NEO" from the Greek language, which means new, to form the name that constitutes the beacon of change in the world. The name "NEOM" was henceforth formed and agreed upon unanimously by the Board.

Thus, the name NEOM was formed with the approval and endorsement of the Founding Board as the official name of the project; a true reflection of NEOM's vision and the reality that will be achieved - Allah willing - to contribute to building a promising future for future generations. From that moment on, the lights of NEOM have pierced the sky, heralding a luminous dawn, a promising future, and a rich life in a land built by man for the sake of all humanity. (NEOM)