The Global Cybersecurity Forum was held in Riyadh last week bringing over 140 speakers to discuss a range of topics related to cybersecurity, from investment and economic opportunities, to creating the foundations for greater cyber resilience. As part of the event, Nadhmi Al-Nasr, CEO of Saudi Arabia’s landmark development project NEOM, explained that the mega development project is set to become the first completely digitalized city in the world.
Speaking at a session in the Forum, Al-Nasr announced that one of the many projects that have already been developed in NEOM is an advanced medical system dubbed “Doctor NEOM,” designed to collect health-related data for residents and predict health problems before they occur. A true land of the future, the city aims to connect different destinations, big data, and artificial intelligence. Al-Nasr also explained that work on the city’s overall strategy is near completion and will be unveiled in March.
“We are going to be the first place in the world that is fully digitized. We are going to be the first region in the world where we are going to be a 100 percent cashless facility. We are going to be the first place with a digital health backbone that connects everyone in the smart city and provides a 24-hour health service […] We will have fully autonomous mobility, we will have only electric vehicles and public transport will be fully autonomous,” he said.
NEOM is said to be a half-a-trillion-dollar, mega-city development designed to provide an exceptional quality of life for up to 1 million people by the year 2030. This zone is estimated to be 33 times the size of New York, and has been designed to focus on various key industries including energy and water, biotechnology, food, advanced manufacturing, and even entertainment.
