NEOM project completely falls under Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty, regulations, clarifies official sou

RIYADH: NEOM, a project fully owned by Saudi Public Investment Fund, is “completely under Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty and regulations,” the Saudi Press Agency reported early Monday, citing an official source.

The clarification came after NEOM's tourism sector head Andrew McEvoy made comments to media during his participation at Arabian Travel Market in Dubai about demographic status within the megacity, suggesting that residents within NEOM will have a special status, distinguishing them from others.

The official source refuted the comment, adding that the NEOM project will operate within “special economic zones subject to the sovereignty and economy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in terms of security, defense and regulatory aspects.”

Economic legislation specific to the project area will be developed to achieve the best concepts of governance of economic zones in the world, making NEOM one of the most important attractions globally, SPA quoted the source as saying.