Saudi Arabia has opened the first area of its Neom megaproject, a luxury island known as Sindalah that is aimed at wealthy tourists.

Neom is intended to be an independent, liberal, high-tech megacity with its own tax and labour laws and judiciary. It will cover three countries (Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan) across 26,500km2 of empty desert along the Red Sea.

The Sindalah section of the project has been in the works for around two years and utilised a 30,000-strong workforce at its peak to bring it to reality. It marks a significant step towards Saudi Arabia’s effort to boost its tourism offering.

The island is located in the Red Sea, five kilometres off the Neom coastline in northwest Saudi Arabia. The luxury resort destination is spread over 840,000 square metres and is aimed squarely at “European, Saudi and GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] yacht owners”. With a number of tourist facilities including restaurants and hotels, Sindalah will be able to accommodate up to 2,400 guests per day...