Projects Under ‘Saudi Vision 2030’ Set to Enter Implementation Phase

Saudi Vision 2030 continues with implementation steps for targeted economic transformation (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Vision 2030 continues with implementation steps for targeted economic transformation (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Projects Under ‘Saudi Vision 2030’ Set to Enter Implementation Phase

Saudi Vision 2030 continues with implementation steps for targeted economic transformation (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Vision 2030 continues with implementation steps for targeted economic transformation (Asharq Al-Awsat)

National development projects launched under “Vision 2030” in Saudi Arabia are witnessing remarkable and steady progress as they move forward from planning to implementation across the Kingdom.

Considered bold, yet achievable, these projects will raise the international bar in terms of quality, environmental friendliness, sustainability, and the use of renewable and alternative energy.

Largescale developments like “The Line”, “Red Sea”, “AlUla”, “AlSouda”, renewable energy programs like The National Renewable Energy Program (NREP), and initiatives like the “Riyadh Strategy” are steadily moving Saudi Arabia towards achieving the goals envisioned by its national transformation plan for the decade.

The Line, for example, offers a never-before-seen approach to urbanization – a 170km-belt of re-imagined urban development with multiple, hyper-connected communities, with natural and walkable spaces.

It is a model of urban design and livability that puts people and the planet in harmony for the 21st century and beyond. Built around nature, rather than over it, large areas of land will be preserved for conservation, supporting NEOM’s environment and rich heritage.

Construction of the smart city will start in the first quarter of 2021 and is set to be a home for more than 1 million people from all over the world and will create a platform for innovation and prosperous businesses.

It will also help in addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges, like climate change, urban sprawl, traffic congestion, and social disconnection.

Meanwhile, the Riyadh Strategy is on track to generate mega projects, create job opportunities, and expand the Saudi capital’s economic horizons.

It aims to make Riyadh among the top 10 economic cities in the world to drive forward the country’s economic, industrial, and tourism growth in upcoming years.

Moreover, the scheme targets increasing the capital’s population from 7.5 million to around 15 to 20 million in 2030.



US Starts Collecting Trump's New 10% Tariff

Cargo containers line a shipping terminal at the Port of Oakland on Friday, April 4, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Cargo containers line a shipping terminal at the Port of Oakland on Friday, April 4, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
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US Starts Collecting Trump's New 10% Tariff

Cargo containers line a shipping terminal at the Port of Oakland on Friday, April 4, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Cargo containers line a shipping terminal at the Port of Oakland on Friday, April 4, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

US customs agents began collecting President Donald Trump's unilateral 10% tariff on all imports from many countries on Saturday, with higher levies on goods from 57 larger trading partners due to start next week.
The initial 10% "baseline" tariff took effect at US seaports, airports and customs warehouses at 12:01 a.m. ET (0401 GMT), ushering in Trump's full rejection of the post-World War Two system of mutually agreed tariff rates, Reuters reported.
"This is the single biggest trade action of our lifetime," said Kelly Ann Shaw, a trade lawyer at Hogan Lovells and former White House trade adviser during Trump's first term.
Shaw told a Brookings Institution event on Thursday that she expected the tariffs to evolve over time as countries seek to negotiate lower rates. "But this is huge. This is a pretty seismic and significant shift in the way that we trade with every country on earth," she added.
Trump's Wednesday tariff announcement shook global stock markets to their core, wiping out $5 trillion in stock market value for S&P 500 companies by Friday's close, a record two-day decline. Prices for oil and commodities plunged, while investors fled to the safety of government bonds. A US Customs and Border Protection bulletin to shippers indicates no grace period for cargoes on the water at midnight on Saturday.
But a US Customs and Border Protection bulletin did provide a 51-day grace period for cargoes loaded onto vessels or planes and in transit to the US before 12:01 a.m. ET Saturday. These cargoes need arrive to by 12:01 a.m. ET on May 27 to avoid the 10% duty.
At the same hour on Wednesday, Trump's higher "reciprocal" tariff rates of 11% to 50% are due to take effect. European Union imports will be hit with a 20% tariff, while Chinese goods will be hit with a 34% tariff, bringing Trump's total new levies on China to 54%.
Vietnam, which benefited from the shift of US supply chains away from China after Trump's first-term trade war with Beijing, will be hit with a 46% tariff and agreed on Friday to discuss a deal with Trump.
Canada and Mexico were exempt from both Trump's latest duties because they are still subject to a 25% tariff related to the US fentanyl crisis for goods that do not comply with the US-Mexico-Canada rules of origin.
Trump is excluding goods subject to separate, 25% national security tariffs, including steel and aluminum, cars, trucks and auto parts.
His administration also released a list of more than 1,000 product categories exempted from the tariffs. Valued at $645 billion in 2024 imports, these include crude oil, petroleum products and other energy imports, pharmaceuticals, uranium, titanium, lumber and semiconductors and copper. Except for energy, the Trump administration is investigating several of these sectors for further national security tariffs.