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NEOM Kicks off Work on First Phase of Residential Complexes

Visitors watch a 3D presentation during an exhibition on NEOM in Riyadh, October 25. (Reuters)
Visitors watch a 3D presentation during an exhibition on NEOM in Riyadh, October 25. (Reuters)
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NEOM Kicks off Work on First Phase of Residential Complexes

Visitors watch a 3D presentation during an exhibition on NEOM in Riyadh, October 25. (Reuters)
Visitors watch a 3D presentation during an exhibition on NEOM in Riyadh, October 25. (Reuters)

The NEOM company on Tuesday started construction work on the first phase of residential complexes dedicated to project workers’ housing. The first phase will house 30,000 workers who will be moving to NEOM to develop different areas of the project.

Building work kicked off with the attendance of NEOM Chief Executive Nadhmi al-Nasr as well as heads of the two Saudi companies who won contracts for the construction of the complexes, Al-Tamimi Group and Saudi Arabian Trading & Construction Co. ( SATCO).

The contracts allow the companies to operate the housing for 10 years. This is considered the first investment opportunity listed by NEOM.

Nasr urged developers to focus on the local content and increase the quantity of manufactured products and inputs in Saudi Arabia in support of the local economy and in tandem with the Saudi approach to boost local content in giant projects.

This meets guidelines of NEOM board of directors, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.

NEOM Chief Executive demanded firms to create job opportunities to residents of NEOM, pledging to back these firms in all means to achieve human development.

The residential region consists of several complexes in which Al-Tamimi Group has contracts to build two residential complexes with each fitting to 10,000 workers, while SATCO would construct a similar complex with the same capacity.

The project workers’ housing would provide a life-pattern that seeks to prepare an adequate business environment that goes in tandem with the goals of NEOM and the best world practices.

NEOM is located in an area of about 26.5 thousand square kilometers in the north-west of the kingdom. The project would be a pillar of economic transformation within Saudi Vision 2030 to provide various income sources through NEOM economic sectors and real estate investments.

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Russian Central Bank Head Warns of Turbulent Times ahead Despite Slowing Inflation

Russia's Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/File Photo
Russia's Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/File Photo
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Russian Central Bank Head Warns of Turbulent Times ahead Despite Slowing Inflation

Russia's Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/File Photo
Russia's Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/File Photo

The Russian economy has adapted to Western sanctions and inflation is now slowing, but turbulent times and major technological shifts lie ahead, central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina said on Wednesday.

Despite the sanctions, the Russian economy grew by 4.3% last year but is set to slow sharply in 2025, with many officials and economists saying that the current model has exhausted its growth potential.

"We have adapted to some external challenges (but) no, we are facing very turbulent times ahead," said Nabiullina, who is widely credited with steering the Russian economy through the Ukraine military conflict and resulting sanctions.

"But I am confident that this also presents new opportunities for development and for increasing labor productivity in conditions of expensive labor. We base our efforts on this," she told a banking conference.

She stressed that the high cost of labor - spurred by the military spending that has led to a wage growth spiral in many sectors, as well as by curbs on immigration - would remain for a long time, Reuters reported.

Nabiullina said the economy should in future rely entirely on domestic sources of financing as cheap funding from abroad, abundant before the Ukraine conflict, is no longer available.

"In my view, structural adaptation to external constraints has been completed. We have demonstrated our ability to adapt to these challenges, but now we are facing structural shifts of an entirely new kind, primarily technological ones," she said.

"They may have even more far-reaching consequences than what we experienced over the past two years," Nabiullina said, mentioning artificial intelligence applications in the economy as one such challenge.

INFLATION SLOWING

The central bank, which has faced heavy criticism over its tight monetary policy, began cutting its key interest rate last month as prices started to come down, helped by the rouble's strength.

Nabiullina said inflation is now slowing faster than the central bank expected, and there are signs of easing in the severity of labor market shortages.

She said that if economic indicators pointed to a more significant slowdown than anticipated, the central bank would have room for bolder interest rate cuts. She dismissed statements by critics of the bank, who want deeper cuts, that the cooling of the economy was excessive.

Nabiullina also rejected statements from many businessman and bankers that the rouble is now overvalued and should weaken to please exporting companies, which saw their revenues shrink as the rouble rallied by over 40% against the dollar this year.

"A weak exchange rate is often a sign of vulnerability, a result of chronically high inflation and a lack of confidence in one’s own currency. It is hardly something to strive for," she said.