driving large changes in the Kingdom. In the five months he has been in power,
the 32-year-old Crown Prince has already determined the non-traditional ways
he is going to put the country's virtually unlimited resources to work. At the
recent Future Investment Initiative conference, the Crown Prince showcased the
Kingdom's ambitious economic plans to move away from its dependence on oil
revenue.
14
One of the most notable projects announced was the government's
$500 billion plan to create a sprawling 13,000 square-mile special economic
zone, known as NOEM, overlooking the Red Sea.
15
NOEM embodies the Crown
Prince's vision for the new Saudi Arabia, or as the website (discovernoem.com)
describes it, "a new blueprint for sustainable life on a scale never seen before,
where inventiveness shapes a new inspiring era for human civilization" (see
Figure 9).
The Crown Prince's vision for the new Saudi Arabia – departure from a dependence on oil revenue and a shift
towards innovation.
Sources: NOEM,
Figure 9 Saudi Arabia's NOEM
14
NOEM,
15
"Venture Pulse Q3 2017." KPMG Enterprise, 11 Oct. 2017, page 22.
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