8 New NEOM Megaprojects Announced!

Saudi Arabia just announced their plans for  eight entirely new projects in Neom! Leyja. Epicon. Siranna. Utamo. Norlana. Aquellum. Zardun  and Xaynor. Together, these will form the GULF OF AQABA which is supposed to be a new region within  NEOM that offers a wide range of luxury tourism, entertainment, and nature destinations. Their announcements come almost exactly a year after the last region in Neom, Sindalah, was  unveiled to the public. And compared to The Line and other projects that we’v

e already seen, these  new developments seem to be much smaller in scale. So, are these new projects more realistic? And  how exactly will they fit in with the rest of Neom and Saudi’s Vision 2030? Let’s take a  closer look into the recent updates at NEOM. Before we dive deeper, we want to announce that  we will change our YouTube name. Top Luxury has been with us for almost 4 years and we  are definitely grateful for this whole journey. But moving forward, we’ve been  thinking about a name that

more accurately describes what we actually talk about -  insane megaprojects from around the world. This is why we will change our name to  Megabuilds. We plan on updating it in 2 weeks, so don’t be surprised if you see our logo next to  the name Megabuilds soon! And now let’s start with Leyja, the first of Neom’s 8 new projects. First announced back in October last year, Leyja is a high-end luxury tourist destination  located in a mountainous region along the coastline of the Gulf of Aqaba. It

is also in  close proximity to other notable Neom regions such as The Line and Trojena which are both roughly  50 kilometers to the south and east respectively. This new region is supposed to feature three  luxury boutique hotels each with their own unique theme and offered experiences. They  will all be situated within an extremely narrow and winding valley surrounded by  400-meter tall mountains on both sides. Going further inland, the first hotel  along the path will be the Adventure Hotel.

A structure that quite literally  snakes around and traces the surrounding mountains. Its focus will primarily be around  outdoor activities such as rock climbing, mountain biking, and horseback riding  (1). It has even been reported that guests will be able to hike all the way to  Trojena, Neom’s outdoor skiing destination, through a 70-kilometer trail going east (2). Continuing through the winding valley, the second hotel is called the Oasis.  A geometric structure that looks like it was carve

d straight from the mountain itself.  Finally, the third hotel in Leyja is the Wellness Hotel. Looking a bit like a mini “Line”,  the pools on top definitely look quite nice. What’s common among these three hotels is that  they all try to “blend seamlessly with the surrounding landscape” (1). The Adventure Hotel  snakes around the mountains. Oasis is seamlessly carved from the rocks. And the Wellness Hotel is  like an open gate in the middle of the valley. And according to Leyja’s developers, th

ese are  all attempts to preserve the natural features of the area. A harmonious balance between nature  and architecture. Well, at least that’s the idea. However construction in this environment  will be pretty difficult and also getting all that equipment & materials to these places. As it stands today, Leyja is planned to open some time in 2028 (3) and will be operated  by an international hospitality management group known as Our Habitas (4). As much as  $400 million USD have already been in

vested in the project by the Saudi government (5). Before we dive deeper into NEOM and whether these new additions can be successful, we move  over 30 kilometers to the north. This is Epicon. Unveiled to the public exactly one month after  Leyja, this region features possibly the most sci-fi looking structure Neom has to offer. In my opinion it even looks more otherworldly than The Line or Oxagon. And that alone  says a lot about the vision behind Epicon. At the center of this new project will r

ise  a pair of futuristic jagged steel towers that extend 225 and 275 meters above the ground (6).  This structure will be the Epicon Hotel. A luxury 5-star hotel that its architects describe as  a shining mirage in the middle of the desert. But is this something that  could actually be built? Looking at the current renders, there will  be multiple massive cantilevers that stick out a considerable distance away from the  main towers. Almost as if they were defying gravity. But in reality, these

parts of the  structure would sway a lot as there will be almost nothing that supports their weight. While cantilevers between two towers, like this one, can be supported, it seems  like these very long cantilevers going away from the main core will not be very stable. Heading just a little over to the coast, there will also be a similarly styled property known as  the Epicon Resort. It will have its own exclusive beach club, along with 45 luxury residences. What's interesting is that the surrou

nding landscape isn’t used at all. Usually skyscrapers  are built because of lack of space and high demand, but that obviously isn’t the case.  So it's literally two skyscrapers in the middle of nowhere. Which to be honest looks pretty  iconic but of course also isn’t necessary at all. What’s even more strange is that they market  this region not just as a tourist destination, but also as a possible long-term residence  (6). Though it’s quite difficult to think that people would actually want to

move to a  place with nothing but a hotel and a resort. So far there just isn’t much to do here.  And even if it's just an early concept, there hasn’t been any mention of a plan to  build a district or anything else around it. Nor for any of the other new regions in Neom. What do you think, can these projects attract people if there is almost  no infrastructure nearby? Next up, we take a twenty-minute drive south  from Epicon. This is where Siranna is located. The project was revealed just two

weeks after  Epicon’s announcement. Similar to Leyja, Siranna will feature a high-end hotel that  will be completely surrounded by mountains on all sides. The key design feature are these  hexagonal basalt columns that blend in with the surrounding landscape. Some notable  amenities include a beach club, wellness facilities, and even exclusive residences. So far these new projects have addressed a fairly similar target group. So it remains to  be seen whether it makes sense to build them all at

the same time or whether the projects  will be built according to demand. However, this doesn’t seem to have been a  decisive factor. For example for the Line the foundations are currently being  dug out directly for the entire length. The next project is quite  different. This is Utamo. Only five kilometers to the north of Leyja, this  region will be Neom’s entertainment destination. According to its creators, the most interesting  thing about this region will be the experience of entering the

venue itself. Once guests  arrive from the coast, they will be greeted with a long and winding pathway that has  been meticulously landscaped with more than 50 species of local plants and flowers.  At the end of this path will be an imposing 64-meter tall door to the actual venue itself. Seems to be quite a long walk to get up there. Once you enter the venue you can experience  a variety of events such as concerts, art exhibitions, and theatrical plays.  Though the details are still unclear, the

y say the venue will also be home to “advanced  audiovisual systems” that will enhance the viewing experience (9). In total, the event space will be  able to seat as much as 2,600 people at a time. Given that Utamo is in a relatively isolated  area, filling this small seating capacity would probably be quite a difficult task.  So how does Neom intend to fill this place? Since Leyja, Siranna and Epicon are in the region  and The Line is about an hour's drive away, it very much depends on whether

the whole  NEOM concept works. And that will probably become clear as soon as the first locations  open. For example, Sindalah is actually expected to welcome its first tourists this  year, so we won’t have to wait for long. Speaking of the other regions, this is an  entire coastal community, called Norlana. It was announced fairly recently and the location  isn’t revealed yet. But it will be built somewhere along the coast by the Gulf of Aqaba. And judging  from the landscape shown in the revea

l trailers, it is likely going to be in around  the same area as the previous ones. What separates Norlana from the others is that its  purpose is to become a proper town of its own. The estimated capacity is around 3,000 residents  spread across 700 residential properties (10). One major part of Norlana will be its 120-berth  marina that will serve as the focal point of the community. Around it, there will also be an  18-hole golf course, an equestrian and polo club, and spaces for various wate

r sports (10). But this all begs the question of who would actually want to move to Norlana? Given its  host of yachting and water-related amenities, it seems like this resort is catered  only towards the wealthy elite. The kind of people who would actually  have the yachts to park in the marina in the first place. And when they do buy some of  the properties here, they will likely only use it as a temporary destination. So this place  also seems to be more like a vacation resort. Next up is som

ething quite unique. This is  Aquellum or in the words of its developers, an “upside-down skyscraper” (11). Though the  ‘upside-down’ part is probably not exactly what you think it is. Instead of literally being built  from the top rather than on the ground, Aquellum will actually be created inside of a mountain. The central area of this skyscraper will be a 100-meter tall void that stretches from the water  below, up towards the structure’s roof. Which is actually the only visible part from out

side. But, what exactly is this skyscraper supposed to be? Judging from their press release, Aquellum  seems to be a mishmash of everything in Neom. All packed into one huge building. With luxury hotels  and apartments, high-end shops and restaurants, an entertainment and immersive arts venue, futuristic  looking interiors, and even something they’re calling the “world’s first floating marina”. And to top it all off, they’re building all these inside of a literal mountain. We’re  not quite sure

why they’re going through all the trouble of doing it like this. Having to  excavate millions upon millions of cubic meters of space to make way for a giant skyscraper  that could’ve been built on the ground. But, looking at it from a marketing perspective,  there seems to be a method to this madness. The entire point of Aquellum, and honestly this  can also apply to the rest of Neom as well, is to be something unique and intriguing enough  to gain worldwide attention. They probably spend a lot

of money creating these promotional  videos and high quality renders. And there’s a very good reason for that. Neom is part of Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Vision 2030. A comprehensive plan by the government to  diversify their economy away from oil. And to make all of these megaprojects successful, they have  to get the attention of the rest of the world. And what better way to do that than to showcase  Neom as the biggest, most ambitious, and frankly most insane megacity the world has ever seen. Thoug

h it is questionable at best, whether they can realize it in the way it’s presented. In the middle of our research, Saudi Arabia actually announced two  more entirely new projects for Neom. The first one is Zardun. An exclusive sanctuary  resort by the Gulf of Aqaba with three unique luxury boutique hotels. And if you think that  that description sounds awfully a lot like Leyja, well you’re technically not wrong. Zardun is  basically Leyja but instead of being located deep within the mountains,

it will be located within a  protected wildlife sanctuary. Its three hotels are called the Tower, Wedge, and Nature Hotels. Zardun’s main focus will be on wildlife conservation and the reintroduction of  native species like the Nubian Ibex, Arabian Oryx, and Western Osprey which have  all long been displaced away from the region. And last but not least they introduced Xaynor as  an exclusive beachfront private members club. It will be built on top of a natural oasis over on  the Gulf of Aqaba co

ast. Compared to all the other projects in Neom, this one is surprisingly  quite small both in scale and ambition. The centerpiece of this region will  be the beach club itself. A structure that is designed to naturally blend with the  environment. On the other side by the coast, there will be various private pools, lounges,  restaurants, and a spa and wellness center. With the addition of these new major developments,  we are now starting to get a clearer picture of the intended vision for Neom

. But with Neom  still relatively early in its development, it is highly likely that we still have not  seen the entire picture. And who knows, maybe they have already announced a  new region when you watch this video. So, what do you think of these new additions  to Neom? Do you think there will be enough demand for these places? Let us know down  below. If you enjoyed this video, we would be very happy if you’d subscribe. So, thank you  for watching and we’ll see you in the next one!