Saudi targets superyacht owners with Neom’s Sindalah launch

• Neom’s first luxury island and yacht club destination in the Red Sea
• Sindalah development anticipated to create 3,500 jobs

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the development of Sindalah on Monday, the first luxury island destination in the $500 billion giga project Neom.

A main gateway to the Red Sea offering bespoke nautical experiences, Sindalah is expected to start welcoming guests from early 2024. 

It is anticipated that the development will create 3,500 jobs. Sindalah is one of a group of islands that will be developed in Neom, said the Crown Prince, also Prime Minister and chairman of the Neom Company.

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He added: “This is another significant moment for Neom and a major step in the kingdom realising 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.”

Sindalah aims to reshape the luxury international yachting calendar and will feature a 86-berth marina while offshore buoys will house superyachts. 

It will also offer 413 ultra-premium hotel rooms, in addition to 333 top-end serviced apartments, as well as a luxury beach club, yacht club and 38 culinary offerings.

Sindalah also aims to become a popular golfing destination with the creation of a world-class 6,474-yard par 70 course. 

The announcement of Sindalah follows other flagship projects in Neom such as The Line, Trojan and Oxagon.

Neom recently targeted potential business partners in Europe as part of its ongoing efforts to attract investors.

Located in a vast region in the northwest of the kingdom, Neom is at the heart of the Vision 2030 drive to diversify the country’s economy. It covers 26,500 sq km, and will be powered by 100 percent renewable energy. 

Saudi Arabia has been described as the biggest construction site the world has ever seen as $1.1 trillion of building projects are in progress there. 

That’s the total value of real estate and infrastructure projects since the launch of Saudi Arabia’s National Transformation Plan in 2016, according to global real estate consultancy Knight Frank.

The consultancy is tracking 15 giga projects in various phases of construction around the kingdom. Neom remains the largest announced to date, and is expected to house nine million residents on completion across an estimated 300,000 new homes. 

As well as Neom, other huge construction projects underway in Saudi Arabia include Qiddiya, the Red Sea Project and the transformation of Diriyah which are central to the country’s tourism ambitions.

The kingdom has six World Heritage sites recognised by UNESCO, including Historic Jeddah and the Al-Ahsa oasis. Its ambitious target is to increase the tourism sector’s contribution to 10 percent of GDP by 2030 and attract 100 million visitors.