Boskalis has won a contract for a Red Sea port development to service a new futuristic city in Saudi Arabia – Neom.

Early 2023, the Dutch giant was awarded “a significant contract for the development of a port on the Red Sea coastline of Saudi Arabia as the first step in the development of a new futuristic city,” the company said.

The dredging scope will be executed with a mega cutter suction dredger and the project is expected to be completed by mid-2025.

Saudi Arabia first announced plans in 2017 for a $500bn futuristic city project in the desert known as Neom.

Saudi authorities said that the huge economic zone will eventually house nine million people as the kingdom seeks to diversify its economy from oil.

The city site is north of the Red Sea, east of Egypt across the Gulf of Aqaba, and south of Jordan.

The total area of Neom is 26,500 km² (10,200 sq mi) or 33 times the size of New York City.

The city’s plans include multiple regions, including a floating industrial complex, global trade hub, tourist resorts, and a linear city – all powered exclusively by renewable energy sources.