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NEOM Forms its Global Advisory Board

Visitors watch a 3D presentation during an exhibition on NEOM in Riyadh. (Reuters)
Visitors watch a 3D presentation during an exhibition on NEOM in Riyadh. (Reuters)
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NEOM Forms its Global Advisory Board

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

NEOM, the destination for the future of living being developed in the Northwest of Saudi Arabia, announced on Tuesday its global Advisory Board. The Board brings together experts in key sectors to provide industry insight, advise on key milestones and forge strategic connections for NEOM.

Nadhmi Al-Nasr, CEO of NEOM, said: “We welcome the global and diverse expertise of the Advisory Board and are confident that each of them will make huge contributions to the development of NEOM. The Advisory Board will help shape NEOM’s future through its detailed knowledge and connections with potential long-term strategic partners.”

The members of the Advisory Board come from backgrounds in urban planning, architecture, design, technology, sustainability, energy and manufacturing. Those members have previously been engaged with NEOM in a meeting held in New York, USA in August 2018 to review NEOM’s strategy and discuss updates on the project.

Each of the Advisory Board members has been carefully chosen for their expertise and has demonstrated relevant experience, a global business background, familiarity with large-scale projects, senior board-level roles, international influence and enthusiasm for the aims of NEOM.

The members of the Advisory Board are:

- Sam Altman, President of YC Group and Co-Chairman of Open AI. Altman is an American entrepreneur, investor, programmer and blogger. He was named the top investor under 30 by Forbes in 2015 and one of the "Best Young Entrepreneurs in Technology" by Businessweek in 2008. Altman is also the Chairman of two energy companies, Helion and Oklo.

- Marc Andreessen, Co-Founder and General Partner of Andreessen Horowitz. Andreessen is a pioneer in the tech world. He founded software companies like Opsware, Mosaic, Netscape and Ning. Andreessen sits on the board of directors of Facebook, eBay and Hewlett Packard Enterprise among others. Andreessen was one of six inductees in the World Wide Web Hall of Fame announced at the First International Conference on the World-Wide Web in 1994.

- Tim Brown, CEO and President of IDEO. IDEO focuses on the value of design thinking to business people and designers. Brown discusses this around the world, including at the World Economic Forum in Davos and through TED Talks. He is an industrial designer by training and has earned numerous design awards, as well as advising senior business leaders.

- Timothy Collins, Founder and CEO of Ripplewood Advisors, L.L.C. Collins founded investment firm Ripplewood in 1995, with previous experience at Onex Corporation, Lazard Freres & Company, Booz Allen Hamilton and Cummins Engine Company. He has served on a number of corporate boards and is currently Chairman of the Yale SOM Advisory Board.

- Alexandra Cousteau, Senior Advisor to Oceana. Cousteau is an expert in environmental issues and is currently a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, filmmaker and global oceans expert.

- Dan Doctoroff, Founder and CEO of Sidewalk Labs. Before taking over Sidewalk Labs, Doctoroff was President and CEO of Bloomberg L.P., with previous roles including Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding in New York and Managing Partner of Oak Hill Capital Partners. He serves on the boards of the University of Chicago, World Resources Institute, the US Olympic Committee, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Human Rights First. He also helped found several charitable organizations.

- Lord Norman Foster, Founder and Executive Chairman of Foster + Partners. Foster + Partners is a global studio for architecture, urbanism and design. Notable projects include Reichstag in Berlin, the Great Court of British Museum, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Headquarters of Apple, Bloomberg and Comcast and airports in Hong Kong and Beijing. He is also the President of the Norman Foster Foundation.

- Jean Fréchet, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. Fréchet is a Professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley and Vice President for Research at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia. He is a leader in developing strategies and managing resources to support interdisciplinary, collaborative research bridging science and engineering. Professor Fréchet is the author of over 800 publications with more than 106,000 citations and 200 patents.

- Travis Kalanick, CEO of City Storage Systems, a holding company focused on redeveloping real estate assets to fuel urban job creation and neighborhood rejuvenation. Kalanick is also Co-Founder and former CEO of Uber. During his seven years leading Uber, the company grew to operate in more than 70 countries, employed over 15,000 people and provided 3 million drivers with flexible work opportunities to complete over 5 billion rider trips. Prior to Uber, he founded Red Swoosh, a networking software company.

- Neelie Kroes, Former Vice President of the European Commission. Neelie is a former EU Commissioner, the first term as EU Commissioner for Competition Policy and the second term as Commissioner in charge of the Digital Agenda for Europe. In the last term, she was also Vice President of the European Commission. Before that, Neelie Kroes was Minister for Transport, Public Works and Telecommunication in the Netherlands. Currently, she serves on various international company boards.

- Andrew Liveris, Former Chairman and CEO of Dow Chemical and Executive Chairman of DowDuPont. Liveris ran Dow, a producer and marketer of chemical, materials, plastics and specialty chemicals for over 14 years and was responsible for transforming Dow and DuPont into the largest chemical company in the world. He has advised two US presidents, written a seminal book on the criticality of manufacturing to economic development and is on the boards of Saudi Aramco, WorleyParsons and IBM, and an advisor to the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.

- Ernest J. Moniz, President and CEO of the Energy Futures Initiative. Moniz served as the 13th United States Secretary of Energy from 2013 to January 2017. He is the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems emeritus and Special Advisor to the MIT President. Dr. Moniz is CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative and of the Energy Futures Initiative and the inaugural Distinguished Fellow of the Emerson Collective.

- Marc Raibert, Founder and CEO of Boston Dynamics. Raibert leads the development of some of the world's most advanced robots. Before founding Boston Dynamics in 1992, he was a professor at MIT and Carnegie Mellon University, and is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering.

- Carlo Ratti, Professor of Urban Technologies and Planning Director at MIT’s Senseable City Lab. Ratti is an architect and engineer by training and currently teaches at MIT. He has co-authored over 500 publications and patents.

- John Rossant, Founder and Chairman at the NewCities Foundation. Rossant founded the NewCities Foundation in 2010 with an aim to shape the future of urban projects. He was previously responsible for the production of global forums, such as the e-G8 in Paris and the World Economic Forum in Davos and is also the CEO and Chief Curator of LA CoMotion, the annual conference and event on future mobility. He is a board member of the Fondation Tocqueville in Paris and Humanity in Action in New York.

- Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp. Son founded SoftBank, a global technology company that aspires to drive the Information Revolution in 1981 and has expanded its business to cover a range of technologies, including telecommunications, AI, smart robotics, IoT and clean energy. In 2017, SoftBank announced the first major close of the SoftBank Vision Fund to support the transformational companies at the forefront of the Information Revolution.

- Rob Speyer, President and CEO of Tishman Speyer. Speyer has grown Tishman Speyer into a leading global real estate company with $50 billion in assets. He is the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, and in 2013 became the youngest-ever Chairman of the Real Estate Board of New York. He currently serves on the advisory council of EXOR as well as several charitable ventures.

- Peter R. Voser, Chairman of ABB Group. Before taking up his position as Chairman of the Board of technology giant ABB, Voser served as CEO at Shell, amongst other positions with the company. He currently serves as a board member at Roche, IBM and Temasek, as well as several non-profit organizations.

Additional members of the Advisory Board will be announced as they are appointed.

NEOM’s emphasis on sustainability and innovation makes it a core pillar of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia’s ambitious blueprint to diversify its economy and enable wider societal transformation. NEOM forms part of the Saudi Giga-Projects Investment Pool for the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia. The giga-projects are integrated economic ecosystems that will support the economic transformation of the Kingdom and act as a catalyst for investment across various sectors, and in addition to NEOM include The Red Sea Project, and Qiddiya.

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Business

US National Debt Crosses $40 Trillion Threshold

A screen displays the total US National Debt, which surpassed $40 trillion for the first time according to the Treasury Department, in New York City, US, August 19, 2026. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
A screen displays the total US National Debt, which surpassed $40 trillion for the first time according to the Treasury Department, in New York City, US, August 19, 2026. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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US National Debt Crosses $40 Trillion Threshold

A screen displays the total US National Debt, which surpassed $40 trillion for the first time according to the Treasury Department, in New York City, US, August 19, 2026. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
A screen displays the total US National Debt, which surpassed $40 trillion for the first time according to the Treasury Department, in New York City, US, August 19, 2026. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

The national debt surpassed a record $40 trillion on Wednesday, a staggering milestone as defense costs, social programs like Social Security and Medicare and interest on the burgeoning deficit make up an enormous share of federal spending.

The milestone figure was recorded just five months after the US hit a record $39 trillion debt in March. It reached $38 trillion five months before that, in October.

The unprecedented $40 trillion figure highlights competing administration priorities, from boosting defense spending that the US relies on to carry out President Donald Trump's almost-6-month-old war in Iran to lowering the cost of gas and groceries.

Kush Desai, a White House spokesman, said the Trump administration “has been focused on slashing waste, fraud, and abuse in federal spending while accelerating economic growth to get America’s debt-to-GDP ratio trending in the right direction.”

However, experts say the exploding debt and the latest record milestone are already affecting Americans' pocketbooks by raising borrowing costs for things like mortgages and cars, lowering wages from businesses that have less money available to invest, and creating more expensive goods and services.

“If we want to improve our living standards, today and for the next generation, now is the time for lawmakers to put our nation on a more affordable and sustainable path," says Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, a think tank focused on US fiscal challenges.

An electronic display shows the national debt in Washington, DC on August 19, 2026. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)

The debt has exploded over several presidential administrations, as the nation's leaders spend more money than it collects in taxes.

In recent memory, the multi-year COVID-19 pandemic shut down much of the US economy, where the federal government borrowed heavily during President Trump's first term and under former President Joe Biden to stabilize the economy and support a recovery.

More government spending was approved after Trump signed Republicans’ tax cut and spending legislation into law last year.

Advocates for a balanced budget also warn that the long-term trend of borrowing more and paying more in interest will force Americans to face tougher fiscal tradeoffs ahead.

"The federal debt is already raising the cost of living and choking out other spending and investment, threatening our economy and Americans’ long-term prosperity,” said Margaret Spellings, president and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center.

“Our current fiscal trajectory is plainly unsustainable, and that’s the best-case scenario. AI disruption, a recession, global war, or any number of other events could quickly push us over the edge from a challenge into a full-blown crisis," The Associated Press quoted Spellings as saying in a statement.

The US is subject to a statutory debt limit, or a limit to federal borrowing, which Congress has the authority to set, adjust or abolish.

The Bipartisan Policy Center estimates that the US will most likely reach the $41.1 trillion debt limit sometime between late winter and mid-summer of 2027, requiring Congress to again vote on whether to raise or suspend it.

The US' fiscal position stands as the worst among other developed countries, according to recent data analysis from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Business

Saudi Professionals Poised to Lead Major Projects in the Kingdom

Saudi engineers inspect a project in Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
Saudi engineers inspect a project in Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
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Saudi Professionals Poised to Lead Major Projects in the Kingdom

Saudi engineers inspect a project in Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
Saudi engineers inspect a project in Saudi Arabia. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia is pushing ahead with plans to deepen national participation in key sectors, shifting from “numerical Saudization” to a more sustainable, skills-based model.

A decision to raise the Saudization rate in private-sector project management jobs to 70% by February 2027 is expected to reshape the labor market, placing Saudi professionals in leading roles across major infrastructure, housing, tourism and construction projects.

The decision, issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development in partnership with the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing, applies to establishments employing three or more workers in project management roles, including managers, engineers and project management specialists.

The move comes as construction, infrastructure, housing and tourism expand rapidly across the Kingdom.

The ministry has also published an implementation guide detailing the jobs covered, enforcement mechanisms, how Saudization rates will be calculated and compliance requirements. The timeline gives private-sector companies room to reorganize their staffing structures and plan for future workforce needs before the rules take effect.

Stronger labor market ahead of rollout

The decision comes against a backdrop of improving labor market indicators.

Unemployment among Saudis fell to 6.8% in the first quarter of this year, while data from the Qiwa platform showed more than 258,000 new Saudi workers entered the market in the second quarter.

More than 419,000 employment contracts were documented during the same period.

Qiwa also processed more than 3 million services in the quarter, issued over 163,000 salary certificates and more than 63,000 experience certificates for Saudi nationals.

On Saudization specifically, the platform issued more than 72,000 certificates to establishments that met localization requirements, as part of efforts to monitor compliance with measures to increase the participation of Saudi talent.

Saudization beyond headcount

Badr al-Anazi, a board member of the Saudi Human Resources Association, described the decision as important and mature, particularly as major projects expand across Saudi Arabia and national talent develops under gradual, carefully planned replacement programs.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Saudi professionals were well placed to meet demand, but said the real challenge was not the number of available workers. It was experience.

Project management requires practical expertise in planning and in managing risk, costs and time, he stressed.

Al-Anazi said the decision should be seen as a move toward qualitative Saudization and knowledge transfer, rather than simply replacing a non-Saudi employee with a Saudi national. That requires sustained follow-up until Saudi professionals can independently lead major projects.

Competition for talent and wages

Al-Anazi explained the main challenge would not be the Saudization requirement itself, but whether the market can move from headcount-driven localization to sustainable, skills-based Saudization.

He expects demand for Saudi professionals to rise, intensifying competition over wages, particularly in major sectors and large projects, which could force companies to reassess their organizational and salary structures to retain staff and compete for talent in the Saudi market.

“Numerical Saudization” focuses on meeting a set percentage of Saudi employees. “Qualitative Saudization” goes further, focusing on the competence, experience and ability of Saudi professionals to perform their roles and lead operations effectively.

A market set for change

For Al-Anazi, success will not be measured by hitting 70% on paper. It will depend on whether the Saudi project managers and specialists who make up that share are genuinely capable of leading projects.

He said the impact could extend far beyond creating more jobs for Saudis and could reshape the project management market itself.

The Ministry of Human Resources has previously introduced Saudization requirements for project management jobs in phases, reflecting a broader drive to localize high-value, pivotal roles.

Al-Anazi expects the policy to support private sector productivity over the long term and strengthen its ability to absorb specialized Saudi talent as nationals take on a larger role in project management across engineering, administrative and technical professions.

Economic impact goes beyond hiring

Financial and economic adviser Dr. Hussein al-Attas said the decision was more strategic than employment-driven.

Project management, he told Asharq Al-Awsat, sits at the heart of delivering Saudi Vision 2030 targets across construction, infrastructure, tourism, housing and logistics.

Its economic impact will go beyond adding Saudi employees. It is expected to increase demand for specialized national talent and create higher-value jobs, he added.

In the short term, however, companies that rely heavily on specialized foreign labor could face higher hiring costs, pushing them to restructure teams and invest earlier in training.

Investing in human capital

Al-Attas said he did not expect the decision to become a major obstacle to local or foreign investment, pointing to the implementation period running until February 2027, giving companies time to adjust.

Instead, the measure could spur investment in human capital, training and professional certifications, he went on to say.

Companies will effectively face two choices: recruit qualified Saudi professionals or invest in developing their own workforce, he remarked. For foreign investors, clarity and stability in Saudization rules matter more than the percentage itself.

Three levels of impact

Al-Attas identified three stages for maximizing the decision’s local economic value: hiring and training Saudi professionals; transferring knowledge and expertise from international companies; and building a generation of Saudi project managers able to lead major projects at home and abroad.

Like Al-Anazi, he said success should not be judged by whether the 70% target is achieved on paper.

The real test will be whether Saudi professionals can manage projects to global standards on cost, time, quality and risk.

The central challenge remains the gap between academic qualifications and practical, on-the-ground experience, he noted.

Business

Arab Gulf Readies Infrastructure to Attract Long-Term Capital

A solar power project in northern Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
A solar power project in northern Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
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Arab Gulf Readies Infrastructure to Attract Long-Term Capital

A solar power project in northern Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
A solar power project in northern Saudi Arabia. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries are reshaping how they finance the next wave of infrastructure, moving beyond government spending to tap private and institutional capital for projects spanning energy, water, and the digital economy.

The shift marks a broader change in the Gulf’s investment model, as governments, development banks, sovereign investors, and private capital increasingly share the cost of turning large-scale projects into long-term investable assets.

What is changing in the Gulf is not simply the scale of infrastructure spending. The financing model itself is being reshaped.

As projects expand across energy, water, transport and the digital economy, government funding alone is no longer enough to meet rising investment needs. Pension funds, insurers and asset managers, meanwhile, control vast pools of long-term capital that are well suited to infrastructure assets capable of generating steady cash flows over many years.

The region is therefore moving toward financing structures designed to share risks more effectively, strengthen project creditworthiness and turn government-backed investments into opportunities that can draw in private and institutional capital.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Saud Alsayyari, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Senior Investment Officer for the Middle East and North Africa, said the “fundamentals are strong” in Saudi Arabia and across the Gulf.

Population growth, urbanization and economic transformation programs are creating a broad pipeline of opportunities in renewable energy, digital infrastructure, water and healthcare, he explained.

The bigger challenge is no longer finding opportunities. It is structuring the risks and mobilizing enough capital to deliver them, he stressed.

Multilateral development institutions can play a central role by making projects more bankable, reducing risks for investors and catalyzing capital flows far beyond the size of their own direct commitments, he added.

Renewable energy and digital infrastructure lead opportunities

Alsayyari noted that the strongest investment opportunities over the next five years are likely to emerge where economic growth meets climate and sustainability goals.

Large-scale renewable energy projects, backed by storage technologies, will be a key pillar of the region’s energy transition, he went on to say.

He pointed to the financing of Oman’s 500-megawatt Ibri II solar power plant as an example.

Technology-enabled infrastructure will also play an increasingly important role.

From nationwide fiber-optic networks to smart logistics, such infrastructure “multiplies the value of every other asset class,” Alsayyari said.

Social infrastructure, particularly healthcare and education, is also expected to expand alongside population growth and urbanization.

“Disciplined structuring and strong environmental and social standards are what turn opportunity into sustainable, long-term value,” Alsayyari remarked.

Development banks can turn plans into bankable projects

Alsayyari said multilateral development banks can help transform government infrastructure plans into projects that lenders and investors are willing to finance. Their role includes sharing risks and providing the technical expertise needed to make projects viable.

He cited recent financing with the Saudi Water Authority, structured with the National Infrastructure Fund and commercial lenders to modernize major desalination facilities.

Projects of that scale become investable when a multilateral development institution can absorb risks that commercial lenders are unwilling to take, he added.

Such institutions can also carry out environmental and social due diligence and provide the technical expertise needed to structure deals in line with international standards.

“That is the model: multilateral development institutions turn ambition into bankable projects through disciplined preparation, blended finance and credit enhancement,” he stressed.

AIIB’s involvement also “reassures the market, reduces perceived risk and catalyzes private capital far beyond the size of our direct commitment,” he said.

The key issue is who carries the risk

For private investors, the problem is not risk itself, Alsayyari said. It is how that risk is distributed.

Infrastructure risk cannot be eliminated, but it can be allocated more effectively among the parties involved, he remarked.

Problems arise when investors are asked to shoulder risks they cannot easily price, such as regulatory uncertainty, early-stage construction risk or revenue models without a clear track record.

“Our role as a multilateral development bank is to correct that risk allocation,” Alsayyari said.

AIIB does this through non-sovereign financing that reduces pressure on public budgets, as well as guarantees and first-loss structures that can make commercial investment tranches more attractive to institutional investors.

Those tools can also increase confidence in how projects will be delivered and operated, he explained.

Clear visibility over future projects is equally important.

Alsayyari said the investment program AIIB is developing with Saudi Arabia gives investors a clearer view of a structured pipeline of opportunities rather than leaving them to assess isolated deals one by one.

Saud Alsayyari, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Senior Investment Officer for the Middle East and North Africa. (AIIB)

Four conditions could unlock institutional capital

Alsayyari said pension funds and insurers hold enormous amounts of long-term capital, yet infrastructure still accounts for only a limited share of their portfolios. That is despite a natural fit between the two.

Infrastructure assets can offer predictable, inflation-linked cash flows, making them well-suited to the long-term liabilities of institutional investors, he added.

Alsayyari identified four conditions needed to attract more of that capital: stable legal and regulatory frameworks, including clear public-private partnership rules; standardized project documents, procurement processes and structures; credit-enhancement tools; and reliable environmental, social and governance performance.

“Many global investors are subject to net-zero commitments, so they are looking for assets aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement,” he noted. “When those conditions are in place, Gulf infrastructure can become a core asset class for institutional investors, and the capital will follow.”

Regional funds can multiply investment

Alsayyari described regional funds as one of the Gulf’s most effective tools for mobilizing private capital for infrastructure.

A direct loan finances one project. A well-structured investment platform can finance an entire portfolio, spread risk and build a broader investment ecosystem around it, he said.

He pointed to AIIB commitments to Gulf infrastructure funds, including Rakiza and Aberdeen Standard Investcorp Infrastructure Partners.

The funds target sustainable core infrastructure in healthcare, education, water, mobility and digital networks, with backing from investors including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and the Oman Investment Authority.

AIIB’s participation adds more than capital, Alsayyari said.

Projects financed through the funds are assessed against the bank’s standards, ineligible activities are excluded and governance requirements are written into contracts.

The combination of “scale, discipline and local expertise” is crucial to steering institutional capital toward the region’s infrastructure needs, he said.

Gulf states look beyond new construction

Alsayyari said Gulf countries have made significant progress in building an infrastructure system that balances economic growth, environmental goals and long-term financing needs.

Sustainability has become embedded in national strategies, from net-zero commitments to renewable energy targets, he stated. One of the most striking developments, however, is the growing focus on upgrading existing assets rather than simply building new ones.

Alsayyari cited the modernization of desalination plants in Saudi Arabia.

Switching from thermal desalination to reverse osmosis will reduce energy consumption and emissions while increasing production capacity and extending asset life, he said.

“Growth and environmental performance are advancing together,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The region’s financing system is also evolving quickly, with more structures combining multilateral, national and commercial institutions.

Alsayyari said the partnership with the National Infrastructure Fund offered a model that could be replicated elsewhere.

Every AIIB-approved financing aligns with the goals of the Paris Agreement, he said. “The direction of the region is clear, and we are proud to support that path.”

Energy, water and green hydrogen seen as the next growth areas

Over the next decade, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states are likely to stand out in several infrastructure sectors, Alsayyari said.

Renewable energy and storage systems are expected to lead, alongside the emerging green hydrogen economy, technology-enabled infrastructure and climate-resilient water systems.

The region already has advanced investments in connectivity, data center capacity and digital infrastructure, he noted.

Water security will remain a strategic priority because of the region’s geography and its future needs.

The bigger transformation may be in how projects are financed

Alsayyari said the most important infrastructure change over the next decade may not be what the Gulf builds, but how it pays for it.

The region is gradually moving away from models driven mainly by government funding toward more complex partnerships bringing together governments, development institutions, sovereign investors and private capital.

That shift sits at the heart of the role the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank was created to support, Alsayyari said.

AIIB’s 11th annual meeting, to be hosted by Doha, will mark an important milestone as the bank enters its second decade.

Alsayyari said Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries could lead several global trends in renewable energy, digital infrastructure and water systems in the years ahead.